And those nine months have gone by so quickly. It has been my priviledge to be present at the happiest and at the saddest days in your lives. We have walked and worked hand in hand, side by side, to be about the Lord's work in this community. Sunday after Sunday we have gathered together around Word and Sacrament. And now it is time to say Goodbye.
Goodbyes are never easy to say.
They are in fact like little pieces of ourselves dying away each day. Goodbyes signal losses - a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend, and now a Pastor. Like sunsets, these people fade from our sight too soon. But it would be good for us to remember the sunset, and then to look beyond it. It is always a little frightening to see the brightness fading away into the darkness of night.