Celebrating Pastor David's Retirement

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Confirmation Class lighting the Advent Candle for Peace
Confirmation Class lighting the Advent Candle for Peace
Altar flowers in honor of Pastor David
Fellowship Hour celebration starting with the children singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain"
Amy Lynn, moderator, leading the celebration
Reverend Mary Nelson Abbott, our South Central Regional Minister from the Connecticut Conference
SGC Youth Group, which Pastor David led last year.

Thank you to all who joined for a special fellowship time honoring Pastor David’s ministry, celebrating not just his time here with us at Spring Glen Church, but his full career in interim ministry. As you know, Pastor David is retiring at the end of this month; he and Maggie are moving to Florida. Since his last Sunday, December 27th, falls during that week between Christmas and New Year’s, when many people may be traveling, we wanted to take some time early in the month to gather and celebrate his ministry. But he is ours until the end of the month, and we will continue to enjoy his advice and wisdom and counsel, his insightful preaching, his warmth and humor and friendship.

Joining us for the celebration were several guests from David’s prior churches and from the Connecticut Conference, including the Reverend Mary Nelson Abbott, our South Central Regional Minister from the Connecticut Conference; the Reverend Mike Ciba, Southwestern Regional Minister from the Connecticut Conference; The Reverend Wendy Sue Earle Kissa, who worked with David as the Associate Pastor at East Granby Congregational when he was the Interim Pastor there; former parishioners Ron and Donna Hathaway and Pat Lang, and of course, David’s wife, the Reverend Maggie Minnick. Joining us in spirit were the Reverend Kristen Provost Switzer (who sent remarks read by Debra Tangarone), the congregation of First Congregational Church of Vernon (who sent remarks read by Barbara Hobbs), and the Reverend James Hegley, a seminary classmate of David’s (who sent remarks read by Ron Offutt).

Through Time with Children, and his active participation in all of our church events, David has been important in the lives of our children. The children started our program with a gift of song for David, singing “Go Tell it on the Mountain”. Carolyn Paul and Carolyn Cary each composed humorous verses celebrating David; the youth group honored David’s leadership with a gift of a team photo from last summer’s mission trip, and Sr. Deacon Dave Myers and Search Chair Rick Brownell each gave tributes.

The UCC has just launched a new publicity campaign, building on the phrase God is still speaking. One poster compares the Bible to a GPS, and says “Sometimes, we all just need to re-calculate. Fortunately, at the UCC, we believe God is still speaking.” We find that a good metaphor for the interim time. The path changes; we need to recalculate; Spring Glen Church, and all of David’s prior churches, have indeed been blessed to have him on this journey with us, helping us find our new path, and enabling us to see the change in path as a time for growth and adventure.

We wish David and Maggie great joy in retirement, we thank them both for all the giving they have been doing in our lives and in the lives of so many others over the years, and we hope they know how much they are loved!

~Amy Lynn

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