Transitions

“Are you settled in yet?”

This is the question I have been asked most since Lisa and I arrived in Westwood last Friday night—a reminder, if we needed one, of the transitions we have been moving through in the last few months: the move from southern Louisiana to the northern New Jersey, the move from a small, isolated mill-town to the tightly packed towns of Bergen County, the move from simple spoken celebrations of the Holy Eucharist with hymns to decidedly Anglo-Catholic worship, and many more transitions, some of which I am aware and others which I am sure Lisa and I will only discover in the months and years to come.

I don’t know how long it takes to settle in, or what “settled in” entails exactly, but I think, in the practical ways at least, we’re getting there. If settling in requires that all of our boxes be empty and all our books on shelves, it will probably be months (or years) before we’re settled in. If it means that I can get up in the middle of the night and find my way downstairs to get a glass of water without turning on lights, I think I’m there already. But “settled in” probably means more than that.

The boxes scattered around the house in various states of unpacking are an ongoing reminder that we’re in transition, and times of transition can be both challenging and joyous. Lisa and I are still learning our way around Westwood and Bergen County. On Wednesday I celebrated my first Mass at Grace as your rector. On Sunday, June 22, I will celebrate with the wider Grace Episcopal Church community for the first time and hope to meet many more of you. Lisa and I look forward to begin the process of exploring the life of Grace Church and getting to know each of you. In and around getting boxes unpacked and out of the rectory, and besides worship, this will be my primary work in the next few months, so expect to hear from me.

I look forward to meeting you on Sunday and settling in to this community.

Pax Christi,


Father Rhodes

Interim Concluded

On Sunday, June 15, 2008, the people of Grace Church saw the active ministry of The Rev'd John P. Mitchell draw to a close. The 10 o'clock service was well attended, and the parish was honored to have Father Tom Norton concelebrate with Fr. John.

At the end of his sermon, Fr. John exhorted the people of Grace Church with these words:

"Beloved in Christ, my prayer to God and my petition to you in this place are the same. Step out joyously in fear and trembling. Step out into the unknown with confidence in yourselves and God, with the assurance of God's abundant grace, God's insistent love. Hunger and thirst after righteousness. Build and welcome the Kingdom. Be peacemakers. Fill the hungry with good things. Bring the healing presence of Christ to those who suffer. Lift up the lowly. Comfort those who mourn. Care for the desolate. Do justice. Love kindness. Claim and teach the promises of the Gospel, of God's reconciling love, of the promise of life everlasting. Praise his holy name. Make your holy thanksgiving for all that God has done for us. Abide in and be nourished by the presence of Christ. In confidence and joy, even in fear and trembling, share the harvest, give thanks, do faith, and claim the abundance of God's love. AMEN."

Addressing the crowd at a celebratory Coffee Hour after the service, Churchwarden Leslie Bisdale said this:

"We are entering an exciting time here at Grace . . . a new phase in our journey together. The hard part is, as with any transition, comes change. I--we--don't want this man to leave! And yet--we--must be ready for him to leave. We must be ready for him to leave because we have called a wonderful man and priest to be our 7th Rector. We must be ready for him to leave because he is too good of a priest not to allow him to grow more fully in his vocation, and to share with others those gifts he so graciously shared with us. We must be ready for him to leave because he has taught us to trust in God's will and call to us. It can be risky and it can be difficult when we listen to God, but it is always right. It is with tremendous gratitude and deep, deep affection--and genuine sadness-- that we can say to you, Fr. John Mitchell, because of your time here with us--we are ready. Thank you so very much."