A Safe Place to Feel All of the Feelings

Dearest Church Family,

As some of you know, I have been providing leadership support to our office staff during this year’s time of pastoral transition. What a gift it has been! There have been times of laughter and times of tears. We have shared both joyous certainty and the concerning unknown. I will always look back at this time as an opportunity to be a servant leader to a group of talented, artistic, knowledgeable, thoughtful, collaborative, and loving people. 

When I shared the exciting news about our church’s Interim Senior Minister with Emily, Julie, Kelley, and Meghan, we discussed Rev. Janet’s outstanding qualifications. We talked about how her experience will serve our congregation, what kind of staff leader she seems to be, and how we will start preparing for her arrival. What a relief! We have an Interim on the way!

And then, as that news sinks in, we start to wonder. Is it okay to be both excited and nervous? Can we look forward to having healthy leadership stability in our church, but also regret losing the tapestry of diverse voices we’ve had over the past many months? Can we trust in the future and celebrate progress, at the same time that we are still feeling hurt by our collective past? Can we hold feelings that seem in conflict with each other?

We had a beautiful conversation in this week’s staff meeting. We acknowledged our complex feelings. We talked about the upcoming ministerial transition, the changes we are experiencing in our lives, and the dichotomy of our emotions. The start of a new school year is most certainly a time of significant transition and many mixed emotions. Sunday is our Blessing of the Backpacks, where we will recognize this momentous transition for all our students, educators, and school staff and administrators. We will share a collective blessing that they may be sustained and know that the love and care of this congregation surrounds them each school day.

This wonderful church gives us a place to celebrate, mourn, contemplate, and process feelings together. It’s a safe and loving space where others are ready to listen as we share our excitement and anxiousness and prayers in this journey forward with each other and with God.

Blessings,
Milena Thompson
Personnel Committee Chair