View this email in your browser To the People of God at House for All Sinners and Saints

From Pastor Nadia



You've got to know when to hold ‘em

know when to fold ‘em

know when to walk away.

And know when to run.

-Kenny Rogers



As I look at who you are, and what this congregation has grown into I am filled with wonder at what our God has done. I am decidedly biased, but there is no other church I would rather be at or worship with. There is no other church than could make me believe as strongly as you do. No other church that sings better. No other church that laughs and loves better.



And so it is with a heart that is heavy with a lot of love, a little sadness and more than anything, an enormous amount of gratitude, that I say to you that my work as the founder of this church has now been completed. There is but one more thing for me as the founder to do – and that is to release it fully into your hands.



I’m no George Washington, but in the words of Hamilton:

"If I say goodbye, the church learns to move on

It survives me when I’m gone.

Like the scripture says,

“everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree

and no one shall make them afraid”



My last Sunday at House for All Sinners & Saints will be July 8th.



I am not leaving to take another job. I am not leaving because of any reason other than the fact that it is my job as the founder to do so and I think it’s the right time. I am leaving simply because my work here is done. I told Pastor Reagan this week that if he weren’t so damn good at being the pastor of this church I’d stay longer, so really it’s partly his fault.



So I invite you to come to church July 8th for my farewell liturgy and what I can only assume will also be an epic dance party with red velvet cake. Actually I invite you to church every Sunday before I leave – and every Sunday after I leave (once a church planter always a church planter). Seriously. Get your asses to church. :)



I love this church. And I always will. It has been the greatest honor of my life to be its founder. And I believe in the strength of God’s hands – the hands in which it has always been held.



In peace,

Pastor Nadia







From Pastor Reagan



First off, I want us all to take a deep breath. We are all still here, and all is well. Yet, still I know it is a shock. It was a shock for me too, even though Pastor Nadia and I have openly discussed that she would eventually leave since I first started here. But there’s a difference between imagining and knowing. So, I was shocked, and then my shock turned to sadness. Nadia told me only about a week and a half ago, and in that timespan, I’ve had the opportunity to make some sense of all the emotion. And I’ve been thinking a lot about something I would say in my previous work as a hospice chaplain: which is that grief is the price we pay for love. So, if what you are feeling right now is sadness, know that I share in your sadness and that it comes from having loved and been loved so deeply. And yet, as much as I preach that change is good and that change is holy and that the Spirit is always messing everything up for our benefit, it’s in times like these that I want to take it all back. But, as someone who has known about this transition for a bit longer than you, I want you to know that my own sadness has already made room for other things: things like gratitude and excitement.





Gratitude for how far we’ve come as a congregation; that House has celebrated the grace and love of God every week for over 10 years; and excitement that we are the ones receiving the torch and that it is up to us where we will lead, once it is passed. So, while we don’t want to dismiss our sadness, this is also a time to celebrate--to celebrate Pastor Nadia and our church, and to rest in the knowledge that God has always given this congregation exactly what we needed, when we needed it.



And so, my beloved House for All, I want to assure you of a few things:



1) I am not going anywhere. I will continue in my role as pastor. I am definitely not going anywhere . And though none of us knew when this day would come, the collective wisdom of this community saw to it that the 2ndgeneration of leadership was already in place well before the founder discerned it was time to go.



2) We have all summer and beyond to be in conversations with each other about how to grow into the church that God is shaping us to be. And we won't make any huge decisions without involving the community in an intentional process.



3) Pastor Nadia, the housekeepers, and I will have a Q&A during the potluck next Sunday, June 10th to answer what we know about the immediate future (which, just so you know, isn’t a lot).



Until then, we keep our hearts open, we celebrate and say goodbye to Pastor Nadia, we show up and we pray without ceasing.



All shall be well.



+++ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. +++



In continued love and service,

Pastor Reagan



First Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2018



P.S. Pastor Reagan and Housekeeping will soon be sending a follow-up letter to the congregation with some additional details about what happens next, and an invitation for whoever might want to help plan Nadia's farewell party.



