A Letter from The Rev. Karen Bowles

Friday June 28, 2019  

Beloved,  

As part of the message last Sunday, I spoke about this time of transition/renewal and the commitment of the Transition team to communicate with the congregation on a regular basis. Thus this open letter to you, beginning with part of my remarks from that message:  

“As many of you are aware, I am in the position of being the interim minister here. It is usual following a long tenure like that of Malcolm’s and John Joseph’s, to have a period of reflection and adjustment - pondering next steps with a view to calling another lead minister after a period of time. This means my time with you is finite. But in the time we have together, we will revisit the question: What is God calling us to do in this place as this community? Your recent visioning process headed up by board chair Vera Taylor gives us a good starting point, and so members of the Transition team are beginning there. There will be consultation with the congregation, the staff, the Board and the surrounding community. We will be careful and deliberate. In the words of our Outreach chair Dorcas Beaton - ‘this will be a time of values sorting and seeing possibilities.’ Stay tuned and we will keep you informed and invite your participation.”

Click here to hear the entire sermon.  

The Mission Statement of our church revolves around discipleship and stewardship (click here to explore). Each of the activities of the Pillars of the Church (Spiritual Learning for Life, Congregational Care, Outreach and Ministry through the Arts) and each of the Foundations of the Church, seeks to translate that mission into action. Together we will review how that is being lived out and tweak as advisable.  

In parallel with, and to inform the work of the way forward in our preaching and teaching, Jason and I will lead a series this summer on spiritual practices; come autumn, we will celebrate the Season of Creation, a sanctioned season of our church that celebrates a theology of creation and explores ecological justice.  

I close this letter with the following, again from Sunday’s sermon: “This is also a time to be gentle with one another. There is grief in change, and time needed for adjusting. Both Jason and I are here to listen and to help.”  

So on we go together, always in the presence of God.  

Karen

The Rev. Karen J. Bowles