Clinton, New York is a college town in upstate New York. It is located about 10 miles south of Utica, which is between Syracuse and Albany. St. James, where I have been called as rector, is a small, quaint, Episcopal Church on Williams Street about half a block up from the village square. The rectory, where we will be living, is literally attached to the church. Both the church and the rectory are carpenter gothic by design and were built in the 1860’s. Sounds very different from Christ Church on Pouncey Tract Road in Glen Allen, Virginia doesn’t it?
Well it is and it isn’t. It IS going to be much colder with lots more snow. And there aren’t any planned communities like Twin Hickory or Wyndham being built in Clinton. And they probably don’t say “ya’ll” very much or eat grits but there’s a group of people in Clinton just like you and me. They hurt and hope and are seeking to grow in their relationship with God. They want to worship with joy and be faithful disciples in the world around them. They want their babies to be baptized, their youth to be guided, their children to be married in the church, and when death occurs they want a burial service at the church. They, like all of us, face disappointments, failures and losses as well as joys and celebrations. And they want me to walk with them.
What they don’t know is that the rector they are getting is the priest you have grown me to be. If I am a compassionate priest it is because you have trusted me with your sorrows and suffering; if I am a passionate preacher it is because you have listened with your hearts and encouraged me to do the same; if I am a caring shepherd if is because you have trusted me to lead you. Please know how very grateful I am to each one of you for all of this. It is breaking my heart to leave but I know it is right and that I am ready to be the rector of St. James. You are a wonderful people and your next Assistant Vicar is going to be a very, very lucky priest. Love, Jenn