Saying goodbye is never easy. And sometimes, it just plain stinks!

Given that I feel that way, I find it interesting that so many areas of my life include regular leave-takings. First, I was a elementary and middle-school teacher. Granted, I got to have the students in my class longer than most since they came to me throughout their time in the school to study Spanish. But I still had to say goodbye to a group of kids each summer. Currently, my call has me back in an academic setting where the same is true. Each May I celebrate with the graduates and then send them off to find a call of their own.

Secondly, I live in San Francisco - a place of transition for many people. Larger cities are places of constant turn over. So many friends have moved across a bridge or further away due to changes in their life situation (job, marriage, kids, etc). It's just part of the ethos of city life.

And finally, I work with Mission Bay Community Church, a small church that caters to a younger demographic. The people that come are often students or early in their careers. This means that a large number of them have moved on to more permanent phases in their lives elsewhere.

On Sunday, MBCC will say one of the hardest goodbyes it has had to say in its short eleven-year history - to its founding pastor, Bruce Reyes-Chow. I'm trying to cry now so that I'm not a big blubbery mess then. Bruce, and the elders Beadle and Scott, were three people who reached out to me at seriously low point in my life. They welcomed me in and helped me to laugh when I found it hard to laugh at much of anything.

I have greatly appreciated working with Bruce as a colleague. He and I will still see each other around the Presbytery, but I will miss this connection. What a gift he gave me by inviting me into the life of this vibrant community.

It seems to me that I should be better at this saying goodbye thing given the many times I have had to do it over the years. But I'm not. It still makes me sad. I guess that just shows that I really care. I sure wish I could receive that message in other ways.

 

Saying goodbye is never easy. And sometimes, it just plain stinks!

Given that I feel that way, I find it interesting that so many areas of my life include regular leave-takings. First, I was a elementary and middle-school teacher. Granted, I got to have the students in my class longer than most since they came to me throughout their time in the school to study Spanish. But I still had to say goodbye to a group of kids each summer. Currently, my call has me back in an academic setting where the same is true. Each May I celebrate with the graduates and then send them off to find a call of their own.

Secondly, I live in San Francisco - a place of transition for many people. Larger cities are places of constant turn over. So many friends have moved across a bridge or further away due to changes in their life situation (job, marriage, kids, etc). It's just part of the ethos of city life.

And finally, I work with Mission Bay Community Church, a small church that caters to a younger demographic. The people that come are often students or early in their careers. This means that a large number of them have moved on to more permanent phases in their lives elsewhere.

On Sunday, MBCC will say one of the hardest goodbyes it has had to say in its short eleven-year history - to its founding pastor, Bruce Reyes-Chow. I'm trying to cry now so that I'm not a big blubbery mess then. Bruce, and the elders Beadle and Scott, were three people who reached out to me at seriously low point in my life. They welcomed me in and helped me to laugh when I found it hard to laugh at much of anything.

I have greatly appreciated working with Bruce as a colleague. He and I will still see each other around the Presbytery, but I will miss this connection. What a gift he gave me by inviting me into the life of this vibrant community.

It seems to me that I should be better at this saying goodbye thing given the many times I have had to do it over the years. But I'm not. It still makes me sad. I guess that just shows that I really care. I sure wish I could receive that message in other ways.