Dear beloved friends of St. Stephen’s:
My heart overflows with love and gratitude as I take my leave of this treasured time with all of you and this vibrant community of Christ. Thank you all for the beautiful and heart-warming celebration we shared this past Sunday – for the blessing, well-wishes, time together, gifts, and the delicious lunch! A special thanks to all who helped to plan, set up, cook, and clean up for that. It was wonderful! I truly felt nourished and loved – and in that you conveyed the essence of what Christ teaches us to do. Thank you!
There are times when we know that words are not adequate to convey the appreciation we feel and this is definitely one of those times. As I said in my sermon on Sunday, I most of all want to thank you all for all the love you’ve shared with me these past 2 years. I thank you all also for helping to form me as a priest, and especially to Karl as my mentor, whose wisdom, presence, honesty, sensitivity, and deep goodness as a human being have meant more than I can say. It has been so good to get to know so many of you, to talk and laugh and pray with you, to learn from you, from the generosity of your ministries, and from the many qualities of God that you shine in the world. I am richer in heart, mind, and spirit and all that I have received is living in my heart and will always be a part of what I share with others.
Finally, I’m happy to get to tell you that my next ministry will begin at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights on August 1. There I will be overseeing Adult Spiritual Formation and Outreach Ministries, and of course participating in liturgy and many other aspects of this large, very active community.
Love and blessings always,
Patricia +
