How was your first year of ministry here at Christ the Redeemer?
With Confirmation last week and all our Faith Formation classes having drawn to a close lots of folks are asking me, “So, how was your first year?” In a word – Spectacular! You all have built a remarkable church here over the past 35 years and I am deeply grateful to be a part of it! Thank you SO much for your sincere and affectionate welcome – and your understanding and patience while I’ve been learning “on-the-job” this year.
My family and I have been spiritually refreshed and edified by the extraordinarily kind and loving community here at CTR and by the stunningly beautiful and moving liturgies that are so thoughtfully prepared. (Holy Thursday! Wowza! My kids were terribly behaved that night, but I was so prayerfully mesmerized I hardly noticed…my apologies for those who sat near us).
It has been a true honor and joy to work alongside the absolutely incredible CTR Staff – I could not have dreamed up a more compassionate, dedicated and supportive group of colleagues….not to mention exceptionally talented and flippin’ fantastic at the work they do! Thanks to Nancy, Marilyn & Crissy for getting all us "newbies" off to such a terrific start AND a HUGE shout out to our Office of Family Ministry staff: Maryalice, Ann, Karen, Michele, Deb & Lisa – I can’t count the number of times you pitched in and bailed me out this year when my kids were sick or I didn’t have a clue of all that needed to be done given my naiveté, or because I simply bit off more than I could chew. A million thanks….make it a trillion.
Sue, thanks for your generous encouragement and for putting up with my delinquent bulletin articles (BTW, I think this one is going to be late too) and Dawn & Christi for their steadfast care and support. Karen & Lisa, gratitude for your inspiring and faithful hard work to keep what is most important – caring for the poor – before all of us in such creative and meaningful ways. I promise, next year my family will volunteer more often! Mari, thank you for your gentle, “sisterly” guidance and beautiful music! Thanks to Derek, Brian, Mike, and Andrew who are so agreeable even in the face of the most ridiculous, last-minute maintenance requests and to our Education Commission chair Dave Zande for his humor and care!
Deep thanks to Fr. Joe for giving a rookie a chance, being forgiving of my blunders and bad memory and for being supportive of virtually every crazy idea I brought into your office this year. It is such a tremendous gift to work for such a creative, brilliant intellect and “artist-in-every-medium” (including liturgy) Renaissance man like you. God was indeed very lavish in pouring out the gifts on you…thanks for sharing them so freely.
Another word for this year would be “BUSY!” Lord have mercy, I am READY for a vacation! I’ve been joking with our staff that I am officially “Jesused-out!” but Jesus knows that like most humorous comments of this nature, it’s only half a joke. I’m desperately in need of a light-hearted beach read, some bad television AND some very intentional and focused FAMILY TIME! My deepest gratitude to my husband Kip, and my daughters Lauren, Audrey & Vivienne who have tolerated my late nights, disorganized mornings, lousy slap-dash meals, and my distracted and more often than not cranky-momma-self this year. Thank you for understanding how important this year was to me and for all your love and support.
The song “Good to Me” by Audrey Assad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKosVfAEUPE) expresses exactly how I’m feeling about this grace-filled first-year here at CTR. I heartily thank God for such great people to “be church” with….and if God wills and you’ll have me, I’d like to stay for many years to come.
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