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About five
years ago, our aged pastor made the decision to retire. He had been
experiencing some medical issues, and it was just time. No sooner had “Brother
Kasey” submitted his resignation, and stepped away from the pulpit, than “Robert
Tripplet,” one of our parishioners, passed away. As a result, our pastor agreed
to preach Robert’s funeral; which he subsequently did. However, given his
challenged mobility, and his inability to navigate a cemetery environment, Rev.
Kasey asked me to do the graveside ceremony; which I proceeded to do. I counted
it a privilege to serve, in effect, as our pastor’s liaison, or go between his,
and the next pastor’s ministries.
Fast forward
half a decade, and I have been serving as a pastoral counselor in a church in
central Florida. Having faithfully fulfilled his role for twenty years, our
pastor “Dr. Fred” made a decision to accept a new position with a very large
church; which had just merged with our much smaller church. The day after our
congregation voted to approve the merger, yours truly walked into the
sanctuary, and began to sing “Great if Thy Faithfulness;” the first song sung
in the church since the merger. Again, I felt like an intermediary between past
and present; the old administration and the new administration.
And then just yesterday, as the worship service came to an end, I was offered the opportunity to pay tribute to this pastor and his wife on the what was his last Sunday with us, invite the parishioners into the fellowship hall for snacks and desert, and pray over the food.
It seems I
am a “tell em goodbye kinda guy.”
by Bill McDonald, PhD
