A Letter from Mother Lucy Ann Dure,

                        

When I was in 6th grade, I saw these words in the service bulletin of my granddad’s funeral:

O God our help in ages past / our hope for years to come
Our shelter from the stormy blast / and our eternal home.

I didn’t attend the service, but I knew the hymn and I knew it was granddad’s choice:

A thousand ages in thy sight / are like an evening gone
Short as the watch that ends the night / before the rising sun.

The solemn movement of the chorale, marching inexorably onward like Time, made me feel like I was experiencing something “grown up” for the first time: Time goes on and change happens.  But God does not change.  God stays the same and will always stay the same.

 

We are in the midst of change at St. Mary’s, in a time of transition from Father Joseph to a new priest whom we do not know yet, a period of time between rectors called an “interim period.”  The priest who serves a congregation during this time is called the Interim Rector.  Over the course of August, the wardens and vestry and I discerned prayerfully that God was calling me to be your Interim Rector during this time of transition.  On August 21, we signed a Letter of Agreement provided by our diocese which details the work of the Interim Rector and the work of the St. Mary’s leadership during this time. I was honored and am humbled to answer the call of St. Mary’s to serve as your Interim Rector.  

In a world where apart from God, change is almost the only constant, most of us rely on what happens at our church to not change too much. As we move from the leadership of Father Joseph toward the leadership of the next permanent rector of St. Mary’s, it may take time to get used to his not being here, to heal our sense of loss and to accept that, with God’s help, we can move on, and call a new leader at St. Mary’s, perhaps by some time next year.   We will all need to adapt and grow, and be open to learning new ways of doing things. We must try to listen carefully and patiently to each other and to what we each have to offer.   We will especially want to welcome new leaders into our decision-making processes.  It will take time to discover the best ways to get things done now that Father Joseph isn’t here to do them.  

I am confident that with God’s grace, and with your prayers and participation, you and I and your vestry will all grow and change together, because though new every morning, God’s Love and steadfast mercies will never change.
 

O God, our Help in ages past / our Hope for years to come
Be Thou our Guard while life shall last / and our eternal Home!

Faithfully,
Mother Lucy Ann 

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