I didn't expect it really. I should have known. I went without Kleenex. :sigh: Most of the sermon there were tears in my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.
We all cried. I doubt that there was a dry eye in the house.
Rev. Karen has been with our church for 21 years. Now, we've been there a little over 2 1/2 years, but it really hit us hard.
Rev. Karen preached on Ephesians 6:10-20. She preached to a packed house.
She cried.
We cried.
We had a potluck afterwards. We were able to present her with many wonderful gifts from the congregation, but the one most special (at least I think) is that our Family Life Center is now named after her and her husband.
I would say that we all ate, but she was so busy socializing that she didn't get to. We were trying to pull a plate together in the end. I told her that it was like when you get married. You know that the food is there. You hear that it was good, but you didn't get a bite. (At least that's what happened at my wedding.)
We are a congregation slightly in flux. Reverend Joe starts on July 6. We'll have an interim pastor next week. Rev. Joe is wonderful and has a great family full of kids. We bought them a parsonage probably 8 blocks away from the church. He is young. He is energetic.
While we are sad to see Rev. Karen go, her journey doesn't end here. She and her husband will be traveling the US with an RV in order to serve God and help others wherever they are called. Rev. Karen and Tom may end up in a service at your church. Who knows?
1 comment:
Oh wow. To be without Kleenex? Not good.
I'm sorry she's leaving. That's a VERY long time to be with a church. I wish Rev. Joe good luck. Stepping in as the follow-up to someone like Rev. Karen can be tricky.
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