A Time of Transitions – Opportunity and Challenge
Dear People of St. Catherine’s,
As most of you know, Sunday September 2nd was our wonderful organist Alisa Carmichael’s last Sunday with us. Alisa and John have been working towards moving to be with their daughter and grandchildren, and just a couple of weeks ago Alisa received a job offer allowing her to begin this transition. I have been a parish priest for 26 years, and have worked with many church musicians over that time, and I can tell you that we have been incredibly blessed to have Alisa with us as our organist and music director. Her musicianship is superb and she has been a joy to work with. Not only that, but while she was with us she was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal church – and even though she didn’t function as a Deacon in the liturgy ( because she was busy on the organ bench! ) she did preach a number of times at my request. We will all miss Alisa ( and John – but he will be here for a while so I’m not saying goodbye to him yet! ) very much.
I trust that the right person will find their way to us to be the next organist/choir director. We already have several people interested and I have assembled a small committee of choir members to assist me in this search.
Another transition is in the role of Treasurer. Bernice Hull, who has been serving as treasurer for over a year, has decided that her travel plans necessitate a retirement. So thank you to Bernice – who followed Paul Johnson, our Treasurer Emeritus, and for your good work in this role. Thankfully, Chris Schweighardt, who is already on the Finance committee, has agreed to step into this role, and was approved by the Vestry at the August meeting. Thank you Chris!!
Transitions bring opportunity, and challenge. If we are open to the change, we can allow something new to come forth. The challenge is that it is easy to hold onto our old ways of doing things, even when a new way could be wonderful. The new choir director will be different than John Carmichael. The new organist will be different than Alisa Carmichael. There will be an initial period of adjustment, as there is in any change of staff or clergy, or any big change in worship. God would have us focus on the opportunity inherent in this transition, so that we can navigate the challenges of it with ease.
A wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a parish, discern where we are now and discover together some ways we could be even better is coming up at the end of this month. Our Parish Development Weekend with Michelle Heyne, OA, is Friday September 28 and Saturday September 29. Michelle will also be the preacher at the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, September 30th. I am hoping that everyone involved in leadership in our congregation will take advantage of this unique opportunity. Detailed information about the weekend is available elsewhere in this newsletter. Please sign up in the Narthex after the worship service, or call the church office. We will have food and so we need a good count of who is participating!
Friday evening will begin at 6 p.m. and we are asking everyone to bring some finger food to share. Saturday coffee (9 a.m.start) and lunch will be provided. We will finish by 3:30 p.m.
St. Catherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church continues to be a community of faithful people. We continue to be blessed by the new people who find their way into our community, and by the many longtime members who give of themselves in ministry, both within the parish and in the community. Thanks be to God for all our many blessings!
In Christ,
Mother Susan+