Minister's Message

August 2003

To make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
T. S. Elliot

We are coming to a close of our in-between time, this interim ministry. You are gearing up for your next minister as I prepare to leave for my next placement who-knows-where. This next month is filled with packing boxes, returning with gratitude the furniture and other loaned items that I borrowed and saying good-bye. I’m predicting that this month will also be filled with excitement, anticipation and maybe a bit of sadness. Different outer events, yet the feelings and the needs will probably be very similar.

One of the opportunities we have is to figure out how to say good-bye. So I wanted to let you know that my last Sunday is August 31 and I hear that we will be having a picnic in Erb Park on August 24th to celebrate and harvest our experiences. I would welcome opportunities to spend a few moments with each of you, maybe over coffee or by sharing a prayer time. Give me a call — my schedule can fill up quickly.

In the church office one of the posters reads: If it’s weird, paradoxical and totally unexpected – it’s Divine! And that’s what Interim Ministry is for me! At the beginning, I don’t know what I’m walking into – yet willing to go – confident that wherever I am, God is and all can be well. And when I leave, I find that overall, the experiences have not always been what I expected, often paradoxical and sometimes weird. My truth is those are the times when God shows up!

How about if as we go through this next leg of the journey – we hold hands, pray a lot and discover what it takes for us to trust in Divine Order? I’ll give you a hint – it’s all in Divine Order anyway, so why not relax and let it be easy. Sound like a plan?

Namesté

Reverend Marylou Palmer
minister@unityofappleton.org