What Happens Now?


I know many of you were surprised by my announcement that my ministry at St. Barnabas is coming to an end.  Keeping the details of discernment private is an unfortunate aspect of our deployment process, but it is done so that trust is not violated should a call not happen, and the priest remains in his or her current position. I do want to assure everyone that my departure is not because of something that did or did not happen. This entire process was guided by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit was insistent that it is time for me to leave.  And I want to go when things are good!

That being said, I am physically present at St. Barnabas for 6 more weeks and there is a lot of work we need to do!  I am here and available to meet with anyone who wants to talk.  If you have any questions that I can answer, I will do so.  There are baseball games to be watched, graduation parties to attend, worship to be offered and ministry opportunities to be explored.  This is not a time to reflect, but a time to make sure that everything the members of St. Barnabas need to move into the transition period is seen to (as much as possible).  The Vestry is already hard at work to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible.

No, it won’t be “business as usual” because things have changed with my announcement.  However, I still love you all and am honored to be your pastor and priest for the next 6 weeks. Like it says in the burial service, “Life is changed, not ended.”  We will have time to plan for the end and saying goodbye, but not yet. For now, we all need to focus our energies on some exciting ministry opportunities, including:

Wednesday, May 29th – 7 PM in the large upstairs classroom – a presentation by The Rev. Bob Fitzpatrick on Stewardship and Spirituality.  EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND!

Saturday, June 1st – Eugenia Turkson’s Memorial, Church Picnic at the Ipes, Trenton Thunder baseball game.

Sunday, June 2nd - First Sunday School – talk with kids and parents about curriculum and focus for next program year; celebratory Coffee Hour in honor of Jack and Cathy Frohbieter’s 60th wedding anniversary and Vince and Susan LeDonne’s 25th wedding anniversary!

Saturday, June 15th – Way of St. Paul 3.0 Training 9 AM – 3 PM at Trinity Cathedral Trenton.  This is an EXCELLENT ministry opportunity.  If you are interested in deepening your faith and friendships at St. Barnabas, please consider joining the team!
And that Saturday evening we will be having a Talent Show!

Sunday, June 23rd – Active Shooter Awareness and Preparedness (ASAP) Training – 12:30 PM at St. Barnabas, offered by the South Brunswick Police Department.  Important information to have and hope we never need, but it is better to be prepared for an emergency.

Plus, I will continue to have Bible Study on Wednesday mornings at 10 AM in the Bolmer Room until June 26th. 

Hope to see you all soon!

With Easter Joy,
Rev. Valerie+

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