Scott and I first started coming to Trinity regularly almost twenty years ago in December 2003. We knew then that Trinity was a community that was filled with love and acceptance. While many of the faces have changed since that time, both clergy and parishioners, the love and acceptance that first drew us into Trinty remains.
Trinity is a place where I can be my authentic self. I feel safe here, even at my most vulnerable times. Trinity truly is a unicorn when it comes to churches. I have been to many churches in my life, but I have never found a place like this one. We are a community of broken and blessed people. A community of beautiful human beings who embrace and cherish our imperfections. A community that holds each other up during both times of joy and times of struggle.
I know that as we enter this season of change and transition…a liminal time, many people might feel like Trinity will not be the same and things will change. Yes, things will change, but that does not mean that Trinity must change. That is up to us, every one of us. A church is about the community that comes here to celebrate their love of God and neighbor. Having a dynamic leader/priest is a wonderful thing to have, and Trinity definitely had this with Lisa. And while Lisa will be missed, her departure gives us all a chance to say “hello”.
Hello to new opportunities for growth, hello to new friends and neighbors who might join us on our journey of faith. Hello to the unexpected and exciting unknown. For many of us this might be frightening. I challenge all of us to embrace this time as an adventure, a “what is in store for us?” time, a time to love each other as we wait, pray, discern, and wait some more for what will be revealed to us.
Goodbyes are hard and saying goodbye to Lisa will be difficult for many of us. Let us bid her Godspeed on the next chapter in the book of her life. On Sunday, as we gather and celebrate with her one last time, let us do it with an open and whole heart. There will be tears, but I hope that there will be equal amounts of laughter. Let it be a time to reminisce with Lisa and each other about the last six years. And let us dream together about what is to come. Let it be a time of excitement, and wonder, and possibilities!
Jeffrey Albright