Announcement from Pastor Melanie
Dear Village,
I am writing to share some bittersweet news. Yesterday the congregation of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, voted to call me as their associate pastor for congregational care. It has been with much conversation, prayer, and discernment that I have entertained this possibility and accepted this call. I feel sad, as it means leaving you, and I feel excited for this compelling opportunity that will allow me to spread my wings and be faithful to God’s call on my life in new ways.
It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to serve as your pastor for pastoral care, and I want you to know that I was not looking to leave Village when this call emerged. When Bryn Mawr reached out, it took me a good few months to decide to even have a conversation. Once I did, the sense that God might be “doing a new thing” seemed clear, and as we continued in conversation, the sense that this call is the “next right thing” only became clearer.
My heart is heavy to say goodbye. At the same time, my heart is also filled with gratitude: for who you are, for the ways you have shaped me, for all that you stand for, for the ways you love and care for one another, and for the hope you give to me and so many about the future of the church. These 5 years and 7 months have been nothing short of formative and trans-formative.
I arrived at Village the first Sunday of Advent in 2019, just three months prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We not only survived the pandemic together, we celebrated the life of the late Rev. Dr. Bob Meneilly, celebrated the ministry of the Rev. Tom Are, and saw the transition of the Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka to senior pastor, among other arrivals and departures. We have shared countless worship services, conversations, meals, coffees, meetings, events, hospital visits, memorial services, baptisms, weddings, and more. I have found meaningful and joyful challenges at Village, including serving with Stephen Ministry, hosting the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, re-envisioning Home Communion, transitioning our Board of Deacons to new roles, and launching Prairie Sky Counseling Center, to name a few.
And yet in the last year or so, I have felt a restlessness that’s had me yearning to spread my wings. Even though I wasn’t looking for a new call when Bryn Mawr reached out, it didn’t take long to realize that God was preparing me—and that I felt ready—to embrace a new thing.
A little about my new call: Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church is a 152-year old congregation with 2,200 members on the Main Line (historic train line) of Philadelphia—an historic suburban area with a college-town feel. Bryn Mawr’s care ministries are remarkably holistic; I am excited to lead a dynamic staff team including a social worker, a parish nurse, and the director of a church-run counseling center with 14 therapists and two spiritual directors. I will work with the deacons, the Senior Adult Council, and small group and spirituality ministries. I will also liaise with a senior center on the church’s campus—a vibrant nonprofit that serves folks age 55 and older. I find this constellation of entry points for care to be a powerful and compelling witness to the Gospel in these challenging times.
On a personal level, I’m excited to live less than 100 miles from both the mountains and the ocean. And I’m looking forward to traveling more often by train and being in close proximity to dear friends in nearby cities.
Life often asks us to hold the good and the hard together. The “good,” for me, is these two remarkable congregations, Village and Bryn Mawr, that I have the privilege to serve. The “hard” is that I can’t serve both at once. As I say at every memorial service, love never dies; the relationship changes upon the parting, but the love we share lives on. If I stake my life on anything, I stake it on the enduring power of love and the grace of God that sees us through. And so I trust, that even though the future is full of unknowns, God will see us through.
The refrains of Village Church are etched upon my heart: “Be of good cheer…” “Do the good that’s yours to do…” “Breathe in God’s mercies; breathe out God’s mercies to the whole world…” These refrains I will carry with me, well past my time at Village.
My last day at Village will be August 14. In the coming five weeks, I hope to see many of you, and I look forward to opportunities to celebrate the ministry and life we’ve shared together.
The prayer I have prayed over and over as this new call has unfolded is “I trust you, I trust you, I trust you.” This will continue to be my prayer as I wind down my ministry at Village and make the transition to Bryn Mawr. I trust that God is unfolding the next right thing for my life and ministry, I trust that God is unfolding the next right thing for Bryn Mawr, and I trust that God is unfolding the next right thing for the Village I dearly love.
You, Village, have formed me and taught me well. I love you, I will miss you, and I will always carry you in my heart and prayers. With deep fondness, great gratitude, and endless love,
Melanie
Pastor Melanie will preach in all services on Sunday, August 3, and we will share in a churchwide time of appreciation and blessing following worship and a brief congregational meeting at noon on Sunday, August 10.