My father, Bill Vanderkooi, whom some of you knew and loved, used to have an idiom he used when we were going to town to run errands or going to visit family. With Mom and five children packed up to go, wherever that destination might be or the length of time we would be gone, he would joyfully say, “We’re off like a dirty shirt!” When I think of it now, I think “how odd” to hear that when we were all scrubbed clean and ready to go. It was never and easy task. (My youngest brother wasn’t even allowed to have his clean shirt on until we reached the final destination, especially church!) It was rather a double entendre, off with the dirty and dressed in the clean.
I shared this idiom with the Fredericktown Presbyterian Church last year as I said goodbye to them in my role as pastor. My role with Mount Gilead was always as transitional support for your wonderful ministry, but despite that time or term, you have become special to me. As I say goodbye to the role that I have filled, I am reminded of all the ways we say goodbye in our lifetimes. To say I am off, with joy, never gives me the sense that goodbyes need to be meant to be forever, or without residual relationships. I say “goodbye”, or “see you later”, with great joy for what is coming your way. There is a feeling that a part of me remains and plans a return, even if in another capacity like a freshly laundered shirt donned for another day and time.
As colleagues in this thing we call ministry, I have lead you and prayed for you. I have seen and felt deeply your loss in the death and illnesses of those you cherish so much. I have been honored to sit in spaces that are incredibly sacred, with families and with individuals, as we ponder what comes next for all of us. And I call you colleagues because we are all walking side by side in the same journey. You have lifted me, loved me, and understood my times of sadness. You have shared my most joyful moments and prayed for my loved ones to bring them healing. The work of discipleship is a relationship of love, joy, peace, and hope, but also one of understanding, sharing the burden, and celebrating the accomplishments.
Ministry is the small church setting is different than the larger churches. There is a living personality in these church families that includes a very deep sense of give and take, love and care lived out as every person is supported. Mount Gilead Presbyterian is truly is a church for every person who wishes to come. You open your doors, your arms, and your worship spaces to anyone who seeks God in the world today. There is love and the commitment to caring for others both inside your doors and into the streets and homes.
As I leave, remember that you are moving on with exceptional people to lead you and care for you. You will be truly blessed by the leadership and partnership of The Reverend Scott Schnapp. I will be excited to see where you will take I will, however, always remain your friend to pray for you and walk alongside you in your times of joy and sorrow.
I leave with that joy that my dad had in his heart and the twinkle in his eye when we were off on an adventure. You have shed things that you only did because you had “always done them that way” and you won’t balk at doing new things just because “you had never done them that way before.” This is how I know you are. I see you all in those freshly laundered shirts, off on new adventures that are sure to bring you dreams fulfilled and hopes realized. The big world of ministry is out there, just waiting for your next big idea. Make it happen, my friends and colleagues.
With peace and grace and hope for a wonderful New Year,
Pastor Christine Burns
Mount Gilead First Presbyterian 