Giving Thanks

Last week I quit my church job. No two weeks notice, no big sad party. I simply walked into a meeting with my boss and walked out free. 

In truth, it's been a long time coming.  Since I went part-time last May, things never quite fit. I trained a lovely young woman to do a lot of the administrative aspects of the job and then I spent my summer on a number of frustrating liturgy projects that took all my time and ended up going nowhere. 

Slowly, I began to find less and less reason to make the 20 mile drive to work. Why go there to type on a computer when I can type on my computer at home? Why drive there for Mass when I can walk to the parish down the street? Being physically removed from a place eased in a sense of being emotionally removed from the place. Leaving began to feel not as sad as it did when I first thought about it in May.

Then there was the realization that my husband's faith life also matters. He has always been incredibly supportive of my slightly unusual vocation, but at long as I was working at a parish located an hour from where he works in San Fransisco, he couldn't participate as fully as he would like. No church choir, no classes, no committees. He simply couldn't get from work to church on a weeknight.

The parish is an amazing place, though. It's arguably one of the most diverse churches in the diocese. English, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Tongan, and Ibo (A Nigerian dialect) are the major cultural-linguistic groups at the parish, along with a smattering of other groups. Going to Mass is there is an amazing reminder of the diversity of the church and how being Catholic really does mean, "Here comes everybody!" The Eucharistic procession in an  colorful parade of all the various faces of Christ in the world.

Even in light of the beauty and kindness of the community, I feel ready to move on. The first Sunday of Advent would have marked my 4th year at the parish. Add to that the 2 years in high school organizing youth groups, 4 years in college leading RCIA, and 4 years in grad school doing all sorts of different ministries, and I've been at this sort of work for 14 years, a little under half of my life. I figure it's time for a sabbatical. 

My husband helped me pack up my office last Sunday and as were finishing up one of the last things I grabbed was a framed quote from Dag Hammarskjold that easily sums up how I'm feeling about this transition. It simply says, "For every thing that has been, THANKS. For everything that will be, YES!" 

Comments

[Meredith Gould]

Wondered when I'd be reading this post and here it is. Thanks for serving so long and so well. Blessings on your next adventure!

[Amy]

Way to go DC! THANKS and YES!