Dear friends,
No matter what, change is always happening. Seasons come and go. We grow older. Programs come to an end. New opportunities arise. Change is a reality of life.
There are times when the rate of change intensifies. As a congregation, we find ourselves in one of those times. Lori Wilson-Chapin has left her position as sexton, after eleven years, to spend more time at her new house in Maine. Nicola Seaholm, after seven years on our staff, most recently as Church Administrator and Communications Specialist, has resigned as well. Both have brought many gifts to our church. We are very grateful. And we feel the loss of their expertise, energy and dedication.
Rick Seaholm, our Commissioned Minister of Music, has been coordinating our audio-visual ministry since the beginning of the pandemic, enabling us to livestream our services. Even though his staff position is a September through June position, he has managed our a/v throughout the past three summers. This summer, appropriately, he is taking a break. We are grateful for his patient training of volunteers and summer tech coordinator, and we will miss him in the front pew on summer Sunday mornings!
Sometime this summer, contractors will come onto our campus to remove T-Mobile’s cell phone antenna equipment. After more than two decades, our two contracts, originally with Nextel and Sprint, have been discontinued. We don’t know what implications this change will have for our finances. We have a team—Len Ezbicki, Matt Aufman and me—which is exploring next steps.
That’s a lot of change. Times of dramatic change may stir a whole host of emotions. They may stir grief, for the losses are real. They may stir anxiety, for uncertainty can lead us to feel out of control. They may also stir a sense of anticipation, for change invites us to make choices for what will come next.
I invite you to honor all the feelings stirred by these changes. Take time to acknowledge the reality of loss and express your gratitude to staff who have given so much. Name whatever feelings of anxiety you may have, for what we can name has less power in our lives. Allow yourself to dream of new possibilities.
We have so many strengths to help us navigate this time of change. The most important is our love for one another. As we care for one another, listen and learn and offer each other support, we rest on the solid rock of our faith in the power of God’s love, expressed through our love.
We also have wonderful interim staff to help us through this summer and to share their insights as we move forward. Sarah Whiteman, who has been attending Edwards Church with her family since just before Easter, has leapt in as our interim Summer Sexton, working with Joe Hudock to care for our buildings and grounds. Fran Graveson, a former Open Spirit intern and a member of our Multi-Faith Collaborative, is serving as interim Summer Church Administrator. Olivia Sorensen, who was our Computer Science intern last summer, will return this year as Summer Tech Coordinator. And when Karen Nell and I are away in Kenya (July 7-27), Rev. Nena Radtke, former student pastor, will provide worship and pastoral coverage.
We are so blessed by the gifts Sarah, Fran, Olivia and Nena will bring to our church in this time of transition. They will help us care for our campus, our ministries and each other. They will bring fresh eyes and ideas, helping us as we reflect on job descriptions and next steps as we move into the fall.
Thank you to everyone—staff, members, volunteers—whose loving care makes this church a place of healing and transformation.
Peace, Debbie