The Apostle Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) It doesn’t take a biblical command for Dara and me to offer our most heartfelt “Thank you” to the people of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church for the inspiring, entertaining, and gracious sendoff you all gave us as we enter what United Methodist polity calls the “retired status.”
We are grateful to the Leadership Team and church staff for the “farewell” lunch we shared a couple of weeks ago on the front lawn, and for the huge gift baskets that celebrated my love of coffee and newfound love of cooking at home. The largest basket may also have included a little “grease” for the cook.
I have never seen—I doubt anyone has—the incredibly creative and over-the-top fun of last Saturday’s Zoom experience! Thank you for the video greetings, the off-the-wall “interview” that Robb Montgomery and Dave Hochendoner engineered, and the opening slide show of wonderful photographs, many depicting the two things pastors love—serving Holy Communion and offering the sacrament of baptism, especially to the little ones! And the highlight of the whole “show” was the well-timed arrival of the Campbell family delivering a scrumptious cake and envelopes bearing gifts. There are no words to express our surprise and our gratitude for this unique event. About the only eclipsing surprise for our “retirement” weekend was that of both of our children (and Shelah’s whole family) arriving unexpectedly to join us for the celebration!
We were blessed on our last Sunday by finally getting to see so many of you face-to-mask at our two in-person worship services—including the livestream 8:30 one that featured some of my favorite music and great brass instrumentals. We were presented a beautiful prayer quilt custom-made for the occasion. Of course, planning an outdoor service at 10:30 for one whose luck with Chapel in the Woods has been lousy the past few years, may have been the single flaw in an otherwise well-thought-out weekend, but moving it into Fellowship Hall didn’t cut into the meaning of the service for us. And how thankful we were for the words shared by three young, key lay leaders of this congregation. I just had to sit back and smile as I watched these three work. Believe me, friends, you have a blessed future coming!
Dara wanted me to include her thanks to St. Paul’s United Methodist Women for awarding her the UMW Mission pin for her service to church, district, and conference. We were both surprised and humbled.
The envelopes delivered by the Campbell family last Saturday during the Zoom event included a stack of recipes for this fledgling cook, a thumb-drive with the pre-recorded content of the Zoom program, and both a letter and a check. The letter was a copy of one sent with a substantial contribution to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, a wonderful gift honoring my career, and my being a proud alumnus with both my M.Div. and D.Min. from that institution. (It should be noted that three of your past Lead Pastors and your two current Associate Pastors all have degrees from PTS.) The check made out to me for my “post career exploration” was also quite generous, and will be used in the same spirit of love in which it was given.
And finally, thank you all for the outpouring of love in so many ways, including a joyous hoard of retirement cards, letters, and gift cards. We are so very grateful. If I could have written the script for how I would like to end my career in active ministry, it would have included the unlikely return to St. Paul’s as a pastor for my final years of service. St. Paul’s has given me so much, I am glad I could return at least a small portion of the favor. We love you all. Signing off, as usual, with a hope for us all—Shalom! (Oh, and Ron—the tie is off…)
Jeff and Dara
