Barring some unexpected change in fortune, or destiny, this will be the final column I’ll be writing for the The NEWS’ weekly Pastor’s Point Column. As of this Sunday, July 28, my time at Knox United Church will come to an end, after 20 years of ministry.
To be called to a congregation such as Knox, is to be immersed in the day to day life of a faith community: one that I have been privileged to serve for two decades. Inevitably, however, a 20 year ministry will also involve the privilege of becoming acquainted with many members of the wider community. That has certainly been my privilege here in Oceanside.
And so I am taking this opportunity to thank the many people whose lives I have touched — and who have touched my life — over these rich and varied years. Often on happy occasions — weddings, baptisms — and also on less than happy occasions — funerals and memorials — I have many fond memories of those who, while not members of the Knox congregation, have been members of my own “extended faith family.”
It’s true, of course, that the heart of Christian ministry (at least as I understand it) is the joyous work — and much of the time it does not really feel at all like work — of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ: hopefully not only in word but also in deed. And yet the fact remains that the Gospel, by its very nature, is creative of relationships and of community, since the God who came to us in Jesus yearns for us to find rich relationships and meaningful community. And so, while my primary faith-community over the past 20 years has been the community that meets Sunday by Sunday at Knox, there are many others who have played a part in the life of the Gospel in my world. For that I am deeply grateful.
Although my family and I won’t be moving out of Oceanside — at least not for the time being — I will no longer be here in my “official” capacity as one of the clergy at Knox. I know I will see many of you over the coming months, and will perhaps be able to express my gratitude more personally. For now, however, please accept my thanks for the marvelous hospitality my family and I have been shown over the past 20 years.
Foster Freed is an outgoing minister
at Knox United Church.
