I sort of get the impression that my Interim Pastoral assignment might be coming to an end in the not too distant future. Everywhere I turn people talk to me about how much they are going to miss me, and how they want to keep me. But in the background the Search Committee meets and now has their "final four" identified. Perhaps that person will be in place by Labor Day. At least one parishioner said that might be possible, though mostly people do not discuss it with me.
For a while, I actually dreaded the prospect of it being over, but now I understand that that is the inevitable conclusion, and the right one. In this particular denomination, any person who serves as an interim cannot, by policy and rules or order, be put in place as a permanent pastor.
So, knowing that, I am resigned to moving on. (Although I do not know exactly what I will be moving on to??) We do hope to be able to stay connected to this church, however, in whatever ways we can, because it has been very helpful in learning about the community, not to mention getting very attached to the good folks there.
I have discovered that interim ministry is by nature very transient, so one needs to have a "home base" for the time in between.
By 2011, perhaps I will be ready to take an appointment, something I have strongly resisted. That means every Sunday and other responsibilities as well. It may just be that as long as it is no more than half time, that would be all right. I am pondering the idea, and praying about it.
Not having work at all simply does not seem to agree with me. Perhaps this would be a more accurate statement: Not having people [on a daily basis] simply does not seem to agree with me.
So I guess I'm not as much as an introvert as I thought I was. Surprise, surprise!
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