Rev. Susan M. Craig
July 1, 2007
Psalm 121
I Corinthians 12: 4-12,14,31
"A Day of New Beginnings"

This is a day of new beginnings – for all of us!
A time to remember and move on
A time to believe what love is bringing
(And I do love Brian Wren as a new hymn writer for us in this 21st century.)

So much living and so much loving have led us to this day.
So much encountering of what it means to be the church, to be church family and to be pastor with you, all of us walking together sharing our lives and relying upon our God-with-us as we do so.

It has been hard for me to know quite where to start – because I am all too aware that while I have lived through many changes here in our life at First Church, to be the one doing the leave-taking is something that definitely qualifies as uncharted territory.

Nevertheless, I am preaching to you today because change is imminent - for all of us. Change, that which is most normal in life, and has clearly been part of the fabric of First Church for centuries, is imminent. Pastors have come and then moved on – for over 350 years, so maybe we should all just relax a bit.

These past few months have been filled with many wonderful conversations and the receiving of wonderful hand-written notes. They have meant a lot. Some of you have also told me that "We’re sad for us, but we are happy for you, because now you are going to 'a better place'". Actually, I think the "better place" terminology is a bit funereal, and I also disagree with it.

Yes, sadness is part of today for all of us. When you have had the chance to love your church, the leave-taking, that saying goodbye - includes sadness, which is only witness to the love and the events in our lives that we have shared. That sadness has been seeping in around the edges ever since I knew I would be leaving, and last Sunday, as I was treasuring standing just there next to the lectern, leading worship and soaking in the choir’s beautiful music, I began to realize that what was normal would be changing.

But I have to tell you, I would not choose, nor do I agree with, the phrase "going to a better place". Rather, I believe I am leaving a church home that I not only love dearly, but which is a place of wonder and love, of excitement and of vital, faithful living, a place where we have gathered to support one another through hard times and to reach out to our world. And we have done all of this in the midst of God’s unfailing presence and love. Guys, you have to understand, our life together could not be better. So, I believe I am leaving a beloved place – that will continue to be a faithful dynamic, real and mattering place, to take a next step on the path along which God has been leading me all my life…

And so are you.

Something else that I realize about today – is that this is a time that calls for courage – at least I know I need it. For this reason, I chose Psalm 121 as one of our scripture lessons. You see, I did a lot of growing up during my high school and college summers in the Berkshire hills, and there the hills that surrounded me were a sight which brought great comfort and strength and a sense of God’s presence as I dealt with the challenges of becoming an adult, a teacher, and prepared to become a wife. For me, being in the Berkshire Hills is somewhat the way it is for many of you who have said you find a special sort of peace walking along the paths at Tod’s Point.

As I consider change in my life, the words of the psalmist are a real support. Consider them for yourselves.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth."

"He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber, behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night,

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. Thy Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and forevermore."

As we consider new beginnings, let us rest assured that God is with us, to preserve us and protect us, in all our going out and our coming in.

Our hymn-writer Brian Wren also held up the importance of taking time to remember – before "moving on". So let’s do some remembering.

I remember when I first arrived in Old Greenwich, that I brought my children to sing in the children’s choir, and they were asked to come and rehearse for Music Sunday only to find Dave Brubeck and Dick Vogt encouraging our kids to run up and down the aisle shouting and singing the age old phrase (na-na-na-na-na-na) bringing real life into the Meetinghouse. I remember moving from the position of a parent who wanted to have her children have the opportunity to find God in their lives, to taking on the position of Director of Children’s Ministries where together we sought to have our children know that they are precious in the sight of God, that they are never forgotten, never deserted, always forgiven, and always loved by their Creator.

What else? There was the Challenger tragedy – also early on in our time at First Church where we gathered here in the Meetinghouse one evening and one of my daughters told me "Mom, this is an important service, you can tell that because, look, they are letting kids (members of SPF) speak." And there also was the time of 9-11 where we turned to God in prayer – and where we opened our doors and had the community flood in – filling the pews, standing in the aisles and sitting on the floor, realizing their need for God’s support, and their desire to have their children have this same sense of support.

I remember Family Life retreats gathering in the Cedars at Silver Lake participating in real intergenerational discussion and play, Women’s Retreats with our well traveled gourmet dinners celebrated in the context of the aging Retreat Center at Silver Lake - now scheduled to be taken down and replaced as Silver Lake moves into the future. I remember SPF, and Confirmation Class – where we encountered a special sense of being church family lived in a week-to-week, day-to-day basis – with faith heightened as we took our "SPF family" to HOME and later to Hungary, the Holy Land, and Honduras.

At the start in Honduras, I remember a young doctor, shyly unrolling plans for a clinic before Stu McCalley, the then Chief of Staff at Greenwich Hospital and hearing Stu say, that he would be proud to practice medicine in a facility like that – and you made the Pinalejo Clinic possible.

I also remember sacred time spent here in the church lounge in our Cancer Support Group where we shared our hopes and fears, and together became more whole as God’s beloved children, regardless the physical challenges we were facing. And I will never forget Hats Off where I began as a participant under Dale Greene’s leadership treasuring the opportunity to take off all the many hats we wore and be women of all ages together reading, traveling and wherever we were, sharing our lives and our faith. And I remember baptisms and weddings celebrating new beginnings of many sorts, and memorial services honoring and celebrating lives well lived. So many memories – so many gifts which we all have given and received. So many things that you have taught me. As I prepare for this next step in my life, I hope to bring these gifts, your teachings, with me.

Looking ahead, I believe that for all of us, important things are going to be happening. If we look back to four years ago, one of the things we learned when Tom Stiers and Sally Colegrove left, was that we were all needed to step up and share our gifts as we were able. Were we nervous about that time before hand? Oh yeah! But that time was wondrous as we rediscovered our church lively and healthy, caring, and one in which new gifts and possibilities were being revealed. And while every transition is unique, that will happen again - in new ways. As Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians said, "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of gifts, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but the same God who activates all of them in everyone." And he concludes "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it…strive for the greater gifts and I will show you a still more excellent way."

While I can’t tell you what it will look like for you or for me, I do believe the future holds a "still more excellent way". But to do that best, I believe two very important things need to happen.

First, that you understand that after today, I can no longer be your pastor, but that I and my family can and will continue as your friends – and we mean that whether here in Connecticut when we are visiting, or in Maine – where we hope you will visit.

My second concern goes back to the perception "that we are sad for us". In that, there is another dynamic which I believe is part of our story as we have been changing and growing into the future. For those of you who have been active here over the past two plus years, you have come to know David and Ron in meaningful ways and have invited them into your lives as their pastor. Yet for some of you who have not been able to participate as much, it is I who have continued as your pastor and as the bearer of long-standing traditions here at First Church. Given this, upon my departure, what I pray will happen – for you and for First Church – is that you will be willing to open your arms and your hearts even wider and invite David and Ron and the new pastor or pastors who will come - in – so that our ever-growing church can be owned by all of you in new and wonderful ways.

As we seek to live in faith letting God light our way, then we are the church - alive and kicking in this world. That church can take place here at 108 Sound Beach Ave., down at Tod’s Point, or any other place we may go. There is no a map or routine to follow or even expect, but there is our God to whom we can turn, for whom we can look, and in whom we can trust.

I firmly believe that God’s light will bring us all into a new day, into a wondrous day, into a day that knows love and joy and hope.

Our Lord Jesus knew in his time, that he would need to leave his disciples – and that they would need to go forward without him. To help them along their way at that time and throughout their lives, he left them with a special gift – a common meal – which would bind them together with all faithful people, and which would nourish them in ways that gave them strength and courage, and the experience of God’s presence among them.

We are about to share in that same meal. It has been passed down through the ages – through the centuries – for God’s people – for all who would come.

I give thanks to God for the journey we have shared. I will think of you and know your presence in spirit as we gather around future tables wherever we may be, realizing that great communion of saints, our oneness in Christ, wherever and whenever we break bread and drink from the cup.

This is a day of new beginnings
Time to remember and move on.
Time to believe and trust and hope in what love is bringing. Amen.

For you shall go out in joy
And be led forth in peace.
The mountains and the hills before you
Shall break forth into singing
And all the trees of the field
Shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress
Instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle,
And it shall be to the Lord for a memorial
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

In the name of our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen