Your awful and wondrous "yes"

November 20, 2021

Dear Friends, 

This is the last pastoral reflection you will receive from my "pen". Tomorrow I end my tenure as priest at St. Paul & St. James. I approach the day with great sadness and with great joy. Sadness that I won’t be able to accompany the parish as it delights the adventure that God has in store for it.  Joy in the sure and certain knowledge that the Holy Spirit has taken up permanent residence at the corner of Chapel and Olive Streets, and has no intention of moving on.  

I will not try to express my gratitude for the past three years. Please know that my heart is full.

And now, as a parting gift, a word of blessing from one of my favorite poet-liturgists, Jan Richardson. It appears in her compilation Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. 

A Blessing For After

This blessing
is for the moment
after clarity has come,
after inspiration,
after you have agreed
to what seems
impossible.

This blessing
is what follows
after illumination departs
and you realize
there is no map
for the path
you have chosen,
no one to serve
as guide,
nothing to do
but gather up
your gumption
and set out.

This blessing
will go with you.
It carries no answers,
no charts,
no plans.
It carries no source
of light
within itself.

But in its pocket
is tucked a mirror
that, from time to time,
it will hold up to you

to remind you
of the radiance
that came
when you gave
your awful and wondrous
yes.

Be well, be safe, hold hope, keep the faith. Harlon +