Dear Friends,
In my sermon on October 1 – my first Sunday at Trinity – I mentioned the “transition guru,” William Bridges. Bridges emphasized the importance of transitions as a key for organizations to succeed in making changes. He made a distinction between “change” and “transition,” and noted that it isn’t the changes that do people or organizations in, it’s the transitions!
Change is situational – moving to a new site; the departure of a leader, the reorganization of the roles on a team. Transition, on the other hand is psychological – it has to do with our response to change.
Bridges’ great insight and contribution – and the reason he became the go-to consultant for organizations managing change – is his identification of transition as a three-phase process that people go through. Here’s the model he developed expressed in graphic form:
I doubt that you’ll be surprised to hear me say that Trinity experienced an ending on September 10 when the Rev. Lisa Tucker-Gray celebrated her last Sunday as your rector. As a parish, Trinity now finds itself in Bridges’ “Neutral Zone.” Many people quite understandably want to move directly from “Endings” to “New Beginnings.” Some of the impetus to do so is because the Neutral Zone is a time of uncertainty. Where are we going? Won’t we lose momentum and direction if we don’t move quickly to a new beginning? What will the new beginning hold in store?
Although Bridges wasn’t writing for religious audiences, he found an excellent analogy for the Neutral Zone in the wilderness wanderings of the people of Israel – the time of transition between their release from bondage in Egypt and their entry into the Promised Land, and he declared Moses to be one of the most effective transition-management leaders in history.
I am keenly aware that Trinity is already a swiftly moving stream – there’s a lot going on! Unlike Moses, God hasn’t given me the power to part the waters, but I’m pretty good at paddling a canoe. And I know that I’m not alone in the boat – your Wardens and Vestry, Trinity’s excellent staff, and – I hope – all of you, are all in this transition boat together. We need everyone’s paddle in the water. What might that look like? Here are three ideas:
- First, say your prayers. If you want to pray intentionally for this time of transition, I found a little handout in the back of the church with the headline: “Prayers for the Interim Time.” I tucked a copy in my prayer book and have included prayers from it each morning as I say my prayers. I recommend it.
- Second, show up for church – either in person each Sunday at 10:00 am or by joining the Trinity@Home digital service that premieres each Sunday at 9:00 am and is available thereafter on our Facebook page or directly from our YouTube channel.
- Third, make a financial commitment to the Annual Pledge Drive. The theme this year is Rooted in Abundance. Co-chairs Phil Skeldon and Angie Carriker have graciously agreed to lead the effort. A successful pledge drive not only provides the resources Trinity needs to do God’s mission and ministry, it also lets candidates for your next rector know that you are a healthy and vibrant church.
I’ll have more to say about the transition process in future editions of Trinity Topics. In the meantime, please know that I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about this transition time. One last thing to note – Bridges said that the Neutral Zone was a time of potential creativity and fun. My experience tells me that is true if we all help paddle the boat!
Blessings,
Stephen
The Reverend Dr. Stephen H. Applegate
Interim Rector