Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony…. Wait a minute… that can’t be right. I guess I heard Connie reading from 1 Corinthians 13 and I just got a little carried away. We hardly ever read that text at a regular church service, but it seems like whenever there is a wedding, this is the text that they choose. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful…. Love never ends.” It sounds so romantic, doesn’t it? Just reading through it I can almost hear Pachelbel’s Canon in D playing in my head, which, by the way, is not actually a canon at all — it’s a ground bass — but that is another story. 1 Corinthians 13, like Pachelbel’s Canon, is just one of the those things that we expect to hear at weddings.

Dear Friends,

It has been my absolute pleasure to serve as your pastor for the last three and half years. This is a wonderfully supportive congregation, and I think we’ve seen a lot of growth in the time I’ve been here. I know that I have certainly grown as a pastor, and I want to thank you all of you for the encouragement you’ve given me.

After much prayerful consideration, I have decided to submit applications for continued academic study in Biblical Studies. I intend to return to school for another master’s degree, followed immediately by a PhD in New Testament. I have submitted applications to Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado and Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I hope to hear something within the next few months.

This means that this will likely be my last year as your pastor.