May 1, Sixth Sunday of Easter: John 14:23-29

One of the great gifts of public ministry is spending time with congregations in transition. When a community of faith ponders a change—in leadership, in identity, in the configuration of relationships with other communities—there is a need for constant attention to the experience of loss and to how this intersects with making good on our baptismal and community covenants.

I recently spent several days with members of a congregation as they prepared for the retirement of a long-serving and well-loved leader. The gathered community was involved in anticipatory grief. We spent hours together mining the history of the ministry and sharing stories of the era spent with this leader.

Several people said to me, “This place will never be the same.” To which I replied, “You are right.” Others added, “Well, it is time for a change.” How could they be the place that they needed to be without this leader there with them?