Over the past weeks, I have shared the difficult news about my upcoming transition away from ELPC into a new chapter of ministry service. In the years approaching eventual retirement, I will be offering myself as an interim pastor for larger congregations seeking head of staff leadership in times of transition. These roles usually involve moderating Session, guiding the church through a Mission Study, and assisting them prepare the way for welcoming a new senior pastor (or co-pastors). As was shared in a letter and an email, I will be concluding my time at ELPC on Sunday, May 15, and beginning work as interim pastor for Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park, Maryland, on June 1.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to this congregation for the love, support, and nurture you have provided me and my family over the past 16 years. I am incredibly proud of the mission, education, spiritual life, and justice work of our church and for the countless lives ELPC touches on a regular basis. I am also grateful for the staff and pastoral colleagues here, all of whom will provide skilled and caring leadership in the months ahead. Our Session will communicate with you more fully in the coming weeks about the details related to the period of transition before us.
So let us be in prayer for one another, trusting that the good news of Easter includes a promise for each of us—that in Christ we can be confident that the God who has begun a good work in you will truly bring it to completion in the days ahead.
With love,
—Randy Bush