Today, January 10, has been a very important day on my calendar for over a decade now.

On this day, in 2010, I began my tenure as Rector of Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church.

The first few times I celebrated this anniversary, I did so with contentment and happiness. Those first years were challenging in good ways and I had pretty high job satisfaction. I was glad to call myself Thankful’s rector and to mark the day that I started that work.

But from about five years in to my tenure, “contentment” could no longer describe my feelings about my job at Thankful; it wasn’t nearly powerful or profound enough of a word to articulate the experience of being Thankful’s rector.

Here are some other words – none of which goes far enough but, taken together, may begin to express how I feel about getting to be the clergy leader of that beloved congregation for 13.5 years:

Grateful
Thrilled
Humbled
Beloved
Privileged
Honored
Glad
Joyful
Ecstatic
Very very very lucky

And every year, on January 10, I would take some time to reflect on the wonderful path Thankful Ones and I had journeyed together, on the ways in which we had grown, on the “success” by every measure we had, by the grace of God, and give much thanks.

So today, on the first January 10 for which I cannot call myself Thankful’s rector, I am grieving. My heart hurts with the loss of that sacred role. And while I know, in the depth of my being, that I will always and forever, in some way, be the Thankful Priest, their Thankful Priest – while the person and priest I am is utterly grounded on the solid foundation of who they made me – it is nonetheless a sad day for me today and I am grieving.

And yet, that solid foundation is there and even in my grief I am beyond grateful for it. Because of what that beloved community gave me, I am able to look forward to a new job in a few short weeks that is going to steward well those precious gifts. I cannot wait to use the tools and knowledge Thankful Ones and I gained together to support and encourage a whole range of small congregations in the Diocese of West Texas and Church-wide. And every time a small church feels bolstered by my work with them, it will be one more drop in the bucket of the amazing legacy that Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church leaves in the world. Talk about a small church with a very big impact!

But it’s not just small churches who will feel it. Because as much as my work at Thankful was primarily about exploring how small congregations function well, for me, the experience of the Thankful community was also – and even more so – one of being trusted, valued and cherished by the people among whom I worked and lived. Over 13.5 years, the people of Thankful, my Thankful Ones loved me and my family; they encouraged and supported me such that I could grow ever more fully into the priest and person God calls me to be. And it’s because of that experience that I now feel confident to engage in other vocations that God has ordained for me: as a mother, a writer, an educator, an advocate for those with less voice and power than me.

And here’s the thing: good churches, “successful” churches – of whatever size, of whatever denomination – do this for all their people. What continues to be such an amazing gift of the Thankful community, even though I’m no longer actively part of it, is that the belovedness I experienced there was not just for me. Thankful Ones love each other, priest or not. They “encourage one another and build up each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Thankful Ones trust and value and cherish each other, as full members of the Body; young or old, rich or poor, male or female or neither or both – all are invited into the warmth of love and the responsibilities of mission in the church community.

And there’s no quantifying that. There’s no way for that good work, that godly work to be measured and reported to a diocesan body or a Church institution. There’s no number that you can quote to show people that your church is succeeding at loving others well. There’s only the human outcomes, the human “products” of that work – like one priest who goes on to the next calling with skills and confidence and a sense of belovedness she would never have otherwise had and a well of gratitude for the people that gave her that.

Often, when I was Thankful’s rector, I would turn to a few verses from the third chapter of Colossians (3:12-15) to describe to the congregation the important work we were always doing with and among and for one another. The NRSV helpfully had the translation that made the inevitable pun most effective. I share these verses with you now, dear readers, should you – like I – want to hold the example of Thankful close to your heart as you engage in your own vocations in the world:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

^{(the picture above is one of the more tangible gifts given to me by Thankful: the photo of the historic building was taken and framed by Thankful One Bob Wright and now hangs prominently in my home.)}