Sunday we will wish each other farewell, my church and I. Monday I'll catch a train, and Tuesday fly from Newark to Edinburgh (via Chicago and London.)
This is the litany we will use to say goodbye to each other:
Sending of Pastor Julie
Anthem: I Want Jesus to Go With Me trad. Spiritual
BVFOF Choir
Julie: We have come to the time for me to go. I will leave you all for a season, seeking rest, reflection, renewal, and re-engagement with God.
All: We send you out, and we release you from your obligations to us for this season.
Susan: We relieve you, for a season, of your commitment to be our priest and prophet in this place. We value your words and we look forward to the new word of God you will bring back to us.
(I remove my stole and give it to her.)
Connie: We relieve you, for a season, of your commitment to be our teacher and comforter. We have valued your presence at difficult times, and we have enjoyed the ways you have illuminated our scriptures and our faith. We look forward to hearing about and learning from you, all the new knowledge you will bring back to us. (I remove my robe and give it to her.)
Sandy: We relieve you, for a season, of your commitment to being our voice in our community and world, to our local and regional church, and in interfaith gatherings. We look forward to your refreshment resulting in new ways to encounter God outside of our local community, and relish the new experiences of differing ways to be God’s people that you will bring back to us. (I remove my headset microphone and give it to her)
All: Your renewal will be our church’s renewal. Your refreshment will be our refreshment. Your journey will be this church’s journey. We pray that Jesus the Christ will walk with you through all the experiences of the next sixteen weeks. We hope that your time away will deepen our relationship, and bring new understandings of the context of the Bible and Christianity to us all.
Sandy: Your backpack is small and light for such a long journey. Wear it as a reminder to carry as little as possible with you. Open your heart and your mind to the experience of each minute. (I put on my backpack)
Connie: Your trekking poles are a reminder that none of us does anything without the support and help of others. We give thanks for the Lilly Endowment which has made this time possible, for you and us. During your season away, we commit to pray for you and to support those who will work in your absence: Catherine the Secretary, Susan, our Supply Pastor, members of this community who will take on additional duties for a time to organize and enable our community, and local pastors who will help in case of pastoral need. (She hands me my trekking poles, and I take them.)
Susan: This necklace is made up of beads that all of us have picked. It represents the community you will spend this season away from. It contains the scallop shell, the symbol of the pilgrim. Take it as a reminder of us. We will follow your progress on these maps as a reminder of you. Go with our blessings, go with our love, and go with God! (She places the necklace around my neck.)
Julie: I bid you all farewell. I will travel open to the experience of God, I will travel full of gratitude for the gift that this sabbatical is. I will travel ever mindful of the ones upon whom I rely, in this community, in other settings of the church, and mostly on the blessing of the One whom I go forth to encounter, My God, my Christ and my Spirit.
All: Go with the blessings of Almighty God, Creator, Christ and Spirit. Return to us in the Autumn season of your return.
Julie: ( I sing one verse of "I Want Jesus to Go With Me," put on my hat, and walk out )
Then Susan Fairo, the supply preacher who will be leading my church over the next weeks, will introduce the closing hymn, (Siyahamba) and will pronounce the benediction at the end of the service.
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