Captain’s Log, March 2019

The storms this winter have mostly been an odd mixture of ice, rain and snow.  Some of us would prefer warm temperatures and rain, and others like a lot more snow, but I am not sure any of us like the mixture.  Yet even if we have more cold and/or snow we also know it is now March.  The clocks will soon change, and thoughts of spring will come into our minds.  In the meantime, the mixture of precipitation is also a reflection of my feelings, too.

Last month I wrote about cleaning out files and divesting my shelves of all the books.  There do come times in our lives when spring cleaning is necessary, but moving is another matter. It seems like I will never be finished, and it is true that files will be left behind, and some just recycled without review.  The end will seem abrupt despite the time of preparation, and while many things will be done, there are always things that will remain unfinished. Of course this is true of our lives as well. We are always leaving mid-stream.  There is one more thing to do.  There is one more person to say goodbye to.

The mixture of feelings affects all of us.  On the one hand I am sad that all my efforts on behalf of the church are coming to an end. My daily routines of walking to church will end.  Seeing all of you on a regular basis will end. I have been practicing what it would be like not to have committee meetings.  I can live with that! As I have said before, each event I normally perform will at some point this spring/summer be done for the last time. And yet things in our lives are always ending. Our children move out of the house, and sometimes even far away. We move. We stop doing things we are accustomed to doing, sometimes because we are tired of doing them, or our interest has waned.

Then we turn our attention to new adventures. That is part of my anticipation as well.  As I clean my shelves of books to get rid of, I am relishing the volumes I pick out to save and bring to Maine.  Some of them have already made the trek.  I have many reading hours before me.  I am also thinking of travel.  Who knows what we can accomplish or how finances will be, or health.  Life often throws us curveballs that must be dealt with. Yet I read with relish about historic preservation in Birmingham, Alabama, or envision visiting the beautiful city of Savannah (notice the warm temperature places).  We also have a longed for trip to Edinburgh, Hadrian’s Wall, and Beatrix Potter country in England.  Who knows where we will travel to? In retirement, I think the plate will be clearer for some dreaming, too.

If I am excited about reading and travel, I am also excited about meeting new people in Maine, and newly retired ministers as well.  As much as I will miss you, there will be a new congregation for us to settle in to in Rockland.  They even seem to like our preaching, so I expect we will fill in when called upon. I know some of you are worried about the transition here, but it should also exciting for you to contemplate meeting an interim minister, and then the anticipation of the full time person to follow. It is a great time for the church to be pondering what you want the church to be, and what you hope the new minister will be like.

Just as I have mixed feelings of sadness and excitement, I am sure the congregation here runs the gamut as well.  People are asking me about child dedications before I go, and how different it will be with a different person in the pulpit.  It is a time to be excited about the future of the church, and a time to have visions and dreams about how things could be. It can also be a time to celebrate what we have accomplished together.  Think of all the changes at church, including the projects completed, the wonderful people who have made this their church home, and the kinds of commitments people have made to making this a wonderful congregation.  You have a bright future now, and will continue to grow in the future without me.  You can be nervous about the change, and be sad, but also ready to celebrate what we have had together.  It is a mixture, just as this winter has been, and despite our anxiety, the spring is coming.  Let’s be ready for it by sharing those feelings we hold. 

Mark