Thanks to all of you who have written to me over the past couple of weeks, wishing me and Barbara well as I take a new shot at retirement. Barbara insists that this is at least my tenth try. When I was at Trinity 2005-07, that was only my 4th attempt. What can I say? I have been blessed throughout my life with a job that I have loved. There have been times of wrenching emotion and of exuberant enthusiasm. I hope I have learned some things along the way, mostly from wise parishioners.
At the first Annual Meeting over which I presided, as a 27 year old rector, a crusty parishioner who became a close friend over the ensuing six years, stood up and said, “Just keep in mind this is my parish. I and these other people in the pews will still be here long after you are gone. We love this place and hope that you will come to love it too. ” Well, I did. As I have come to love every parish I have served, including Trinity Upperville. And I have kept in mind that this is your parish. The singular disappointment in my brief tenure as Interim is that the coronavirus kept us from the relaxed kind of interaction that we can have at coffee hour and as meetings prepare to begin. I have missed point-to-point races and opportunities to shoot skeet. I have seriously missed decent restaurants such as we do not have around us in West Virginia.
Mostly I have missed worshipping together, face to face. I have missed the connection with white robed acolytes lining up before a service, all under the loving guidance of Miss Lillian and Miss Katrina. The quiet behind-the-scenes dedication of the altar guild. Even as we all are eager to return to worship in the church building, I have profoundly appreciated the response to our online efforts. Thanks to readers for video recording lessons and prayers.
With this as my last CROSSWISE to you all, I must publicly say how indebted I am to Di Demaree as Parish Administrator, Betsy Crenshaw as “Director of First Impressions,” Tommy Breeden, as resident poet and Sexton Superb, and Christian Myers as Director of Music – wow! Thanks to Christian and the choir section leaders for excellent anthems and Children’s Time sermons that have been a pure delight. Thanks to Richard McPherson for such fine work as our organist. Thanks to the commitment of hard working vestry members, especially your excellent wardens, Johanna and Louise. I will miss you all.
But back to my main point – This is your parish. It will only work if you love it, tend to it, offer to jump in where you see a need. Trinity is a healthy and dynamic congregation. As magnificent as our campus is in the beautiful church and the Outdoor Sanctuary, in the cemetery and courtyard, those aspects of our parish life, that probably drew many of us to Trinity in the first place, are not The Church. You are. The buildings are only a museum without the people. With the people the campus is a jewel in the scepter of God and the launchpad for a ministry of worship, learning and service. Imagine your niche – where you want to fit in the Dream of God as it evolves for the parish. There will come a time when the coronavirus pandemic is in our review mirror. We can then rejoin one an-other in whatever will become our new normal. (I do not foresee that we will be able to go back to what we were, but will have to give shape to whatever is ahead.) But dream your way into a vibrant future. May it be filled with love and expectancy.
On July 1st, you will welcome a new Rector, The Rev. Jonathan V. Adams. For him it will be a new position. But it also puts all of you in a new position. So I offer to him and to you a blessing from one of my favorite poets, John O’Donohue.
May your new work excite your heart,
Kindle in your mind creativity
To journey beyond the old limits
Of all that has become wearisome.
May this work challenge you toward
New frontiers that will emerge
As you begin to approach them,
Calling forth from you the full force
And depth of your undiscovered gifts.
May the work fit the rhythms of your soul,
Enabling you to draw from the invisible
New ideas and a vision that will inspire.
Remember to be kind
To those who work for you,
Endeavor to remain aware
Of the quiet world
That lives behind each face.
Be fair in your expectations,
Compassionate in your criticism.
May you have the grace of encouragement
To awaken the gift in the other’s heart,
Building in them the confidence
To follow the call of the gift.
May you come to know that work
Which emerges from the mind of love
Will have beauty and form.
May this new work be worthy
Of the energy of your heart
And the light of your thought.
May your work assume
A proper space in your life;
Instead of owning or using you,
May it challenge and refine you,
Bringing you every day further
Into the wonder of your heart.
- John O’Donohue,
To Bless the Space Between Us (2008)
Peace and Joy,
The Rt. Rev. Martin G. Townsend
Interim Rector