On the last day of Trinity Youth Conference, participants can be found scribbling notes on small pieces of paper and stuffing them in the shoes of friends, which have been arranged alphabetically in the worship area. On these “shoe notes,” people write a few words about how much others have meant to them and how blessed they have been to have their companionship during the week-long conference and beyond. Shoe notes are treasures that remind you of how much you can mean to another with a smile, word of encouragement, belly laugh, or prayer. Shoe notes can be read and re-read on rainy days to remind you that you are loved, even when you feel lonely or cranky.
It comes as no surprise to me that as I prepare to wrap up my 22-year ministry at ELPC, I am calling to mind a practice I’ve shared with youth and young adults through the years—that’s how my ministry started after all! I wish that I could write each one of you a shoe note to tell you what you mean to me, and thank you personally for the moments we have shared that have inspired me, encouraged me, challenged me, stretched me, nurtured me, and loved me.
But that task is so large I wouldn’t know where to begin or end. So for now, here is a note to all of you:
Dear ELPC,
“Thank you” feels like an inadequate phrase to express the breadth of gratitude I feel for you and toward you for the ministry we have shared together over the last 27 years.
And honestly, we’ve shared more than a ministry. We’ve shared LIFE.
We’ve navigated heartache and conflict and a global pandemic. We’ve laughed and created and assisted those in need. We’ve celebrated weddings and births and adoptions and baptisms and graduations. We’ve grieved our loss as those we love have died, and we’ve reminded each other of the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ each time.
We’ve sung and worshiped and embraced and clapped and asked questions and prayed. We’ve shared meals…especially pizza. (We’ve had A LOT of pizza together.) We’ve been nourished by the loaf and cup prepared for us by Christ, and by the Communion we’ve shared in the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
We’ve climbed walls, square-danced, marched, processed, played hide-and-seek, heard our voices echo as we’ve climbed the spiral stairs to the belltower. We’ve traveled for retreats and mission trips. We’ve solved problems and offered support when there was no solution to be found.
Thank you for the deep honor of sharing your lives with me in so many rich and beautiful ways. Thank you for sharing my life with me, for encouraging my gifts, for welcoming my family.
Most importantly, perhaps, is this:
Thank you for daring to witness to the radically hospitable love of God in Christ well before it was acceptable to do so. Thank you for showing this spiritual seeker what it meant to be a family of faith who is willing to live out the gospel in word and deed. Thank you for being a community of faith who truly embraced and welcomed and longed to be a haven for ALL of God’s children—especially those who had heard otherwise.
Thank you for giving me hope that church, although not perfect, could be faithful, prophetic, and relevant—and for opening yourselves to me so that I could see that I too could be a part of a church that would welcome ME rather than restricting my forms of service. Thank you for helping me to identify God’s call on my life and encouraging me to step out in faith.
Thank you for loving me, and thank you for letting me love you.
I will miss you individually and corporately as we each embark upon this next chapter of ministry and life. AND I continue to give thanks to God for you, being fully confident that the One who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Thank you all.
With deep love and gratitude,
—Pastor Heather