Letter to congregants at our first annual meeting
by The Rev. Ella Breckenridge
Thank you for this opportunity to serve as your Interim Rector. I have used the phrase “What in God’s Name is Going on Here?” during our year together. In reality, that is exactly what a congregation must ask during their intentional interim ministry period. Your leadership has given the congregation of St. Thaddeus an invaluable gift to walk with God, take your time to discover and discern God’s will.
We have had a very successful year together. I come to be a servant of your future, not an expert on the past. I accepted the call as your servant because I saw and continue to see a great potential for your future. I pledge to hold this vision gently until you are ready to see it for yourselves. The causes of why things are from the past belong to the kingdom of this world. I come to help the congregation define resources and implement a preferred future which belongs to God’s Kingdom.
We have two very important initial and ongoing tasks to accomplish during our interim ministry period. The first is to accept that we are blessed by an infinitely compassionate God who calls us forth to be blessings to each other, our community, and the world. The second is the task of reconciliation. This means restoring relationships and creating a safe and sacred place for God’s future to unfold. These tasks must remain prominent and in the forefront of all we do.
I am talking about an incarnational strategy whereby we join with each other, work together, and co-create our preferred outcomes. We use a model with five generative steps which inform our work this second year. We are in the process of defining and discovering the “best of what is.” These are the first and second steps in the model. The third step is to dream dreams about “what might be.” The fourth and fifty steps take us to a phase of designing and delivering “what will be.”
I invite you to take your place in the process and lend your voice in a congregational “Night of Discovery.” We need 100% participation. If your voice is missing it weakens our path forward because God’s will is known through everyone. Frederick Buechner tells us that: “the place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet.” Make a commitment to God and each other that you are fully present this year. I offer the following prayer to be a reminder. Keep the prayer in a prominent place in your home and pray it often. Let this prayer guide and soothe our souls during our second interim ministry period.
Oh God of peace keep us from being content with things as they are. Let us all know that at the heart of change and turbulence there is an inner calm that comes from faith in you, and that from this central heart of peace, there may flow a creative compassion, a thirst for justice, a relentless proclamation of your love, and a willingness to give of ourselves in the Spirit of Christ. Amen.1
Faithfully,
The Rev. Ella H. Breckenridge, Interim Rector
1 Rob Voyle, Clergy Leadership Institute
