A Letter from Pastor Pat
May 1, 2024
Greetings God’s Beloved,
It is hard to believe that it has been four years since I first became your pastor. In four years we have navigated some of life’s most difficult challenges, to come out on the other side, stronger than ever. We have navigated seasons of celebration and seasons of sadness. Seasons of pandemic isolation and seasons of reimagined ministry. God has sustained us and allowed us to thrive and prosper in ways we never thought possible.
Seasons are only for a specific moment in time. Ecclesiastes 3:1a notes,
“For everything that happens in life—there is a season, a right time for everything under heaven.”
And the time has come for this season with you to end. It has been my honor to serve as your pastor, to walk with you in those sacred spaces of your life, to celebrate births and marriages, to celebrate lives now resting in eternity.
Though our season together is ending, God is opening a new season with your new pastor, Rev. Sheridan Allmond. It is vitally important that you begin to create the relationship with Rev. Allmond that God desires and has purposed for this season.
This requires the intentional cessation of my role as your pastor as stated in the Baltimore Washington Conference Policy and Procedure Manual, paragraph 4014 page 42, stated here:
“As of the effective date of a new appointment, a pastor shall immediately cease all pastoral counseling and pastoral visitation with members or member families in the previous appointment. Since appointments are generally announced several weeks in advance, each pastor has adequate time in which to effect closure and make appropriate referral to another for the pastoral care of members."
"Pastors shall have a clear understanding with former congregations that they will not return to officiate at baptisms, weddings and funerals, or do pastoral counseling or pastoral visitation in that parish. Pastors, active or retired, shall respectfully decline to participate in such duties when invited by members of a former congregation. Declining all such invitations is the responsibility of the previous pastor. The present pastor, at his or her discretion, may invite the previous pastor to return for pastoral functions. However, the present pastor should never be under any pressure to invite the previous pastor. This policy is ongoing and doesn’t have an expiration date.”
Beginning June 10, 2024 I will begin a three week period of transition leave, as my date of retirement is effective July 1, 2024. Between June 10 & June 30, 2024 all pastoral care and church related concerns shall be addressed to Rev. Joey Heath-Mason. I will not be responding to emails, phone calls or text messages. I will also cease any connections via social media platforms such as Facebook.
Effective July 1, 2024 the email addressed pallen@stpaulsk.org will no longer be active.
Beloved, as clergy we each accept the reality that we serve for a season. And when our season is over, we are privileged to pass the baton to God’s next servant.
May you welcome Rev. Allmond with open arms, knowing God has chosen them for this season of ministry with you. And may God’s next for you be better than you could have ever imagined.
God’s peace to each of you…. And always remember, this pastor loves you... and there is nothing you can do about it!
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Patricia “ Pastor Pat” Allen