Farewell and Godspeed

 I said farewell to my congregation this past weekend.  It was difficult.  I would not have chosen to leave of my own devices.  But the simple truth is that our Cooperative Ministries of Lutherans and Methodists in McMinnville, Oregon can no longer afford two pastors.  It was a wonderful extravagance to have a full-time Methodist and a full-time Lutheran pastor on staff.  It became obvious to everyone that we could no longer afford that extravagance.  It was very clear to me that I did not desire to be the pastor of both congregations.  So I resigned my call.   I did not do so lightly.

To help ease the pain, some friends invited us to a wine-tasting in Carlton, Oregon.  It is impressive to me how much this little town has changed in the 12 years that I have lived here.  There are new shops, restaurants and wineries springing up all along the main street of town.  We tasted several wines at our destination.  Our hostess, DeeDee  could not have been more hospitable.  There was a beautiful spread of cheeses and meats for us to sample.  We had just eaten a sumptuous lunch at the Horseradish restaurant, so we went light on the snacks and dove into the wines.  I do not like to say bad things about Oregon wines, but these were not presenting well that day.  There could be a lot of reasons for that.  It's been very hot, and the air conditioner might have been turned off over night.  Who knows.  But we didn't purchase much.   

While eating lunch we ran into Ken for K&M Winery.  They have a tasting room just down the street, so we decided to visit.  All I can say is that if K&M have made a less-than-great wine I have not yet tasted it.  I've never left with less that 8-10 bottles.  Ken is the public face of the operation.  He has put together such a clean,  beautiful tasting room area.  I loved everything about it, including tasting wonderful wines with six good friends.  It was a balm to my soul.   Ken mentioned that he and his partner are getting married this summer. That fills me with so much joy and hope for the future.  May they be happy and blessed as they enter a new phase of their relationship.  

As I head out the door, I am filled with thanksgiving for my time at the Cooperative Ministries.  I have served a wonderful group of people who have taken the charge to feed and house the poor seriously.  Many people have asked me what I am going to do.  The answer is, "nothing".  I sometimes say that I am going fallow.  I am going to do nothing . . . but with a purpose.  I want to try and ascertain where the Holy Spirit might be leading me.  I do know that I want to participate in creating beauty in some way.  I'll be singing with the Occasional Quartet, tasting more wine, and relaxing a bit.  God seems to have closed and locked this door, but another will open.  With time and patience, I'm sure I will see it.  If you have any ideas for my future, just let me know, I wide open to new ideas and new possibilities.