Father David’s post of October 29, 2021 — My heart is full after the conversation between Canon Casson and me last Sunday afternoon. It would have been very easy for the two of us to have continued sharing beyond the hour and fifteen minutes.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Jonathan Whitney for his thoughtful and gracious moderation and Will Landis for broadcasting the conversation on YouTube. That YouTube video is still there, including our opening of the 10th Anniversary Time Capsule! See:
Further Reflection on Sunday’s Conversation by Father David
I have a great appreciation and love for this parish, and I leave in two months with many memories of the ministry we shared for the last twelve years. Those memories include:
- Meeting with the search committee in September of 2009.
- The major snowstorm that cancelled my first Sunday.
- Carnival Sunday in 2010 and my first Holy Week when I experienced Tenebrae for the first time at SsAM.
- Coming to church early on Sunday morning to marvel at how Bill Perkins cared and loved everyone who came for breakfast each Sunday and how he greeted everyone by their first name. Bill and Marcy Perkins personify love in action.
- The Good Friday Urban Stations of the Cross with meditations written by Christina Lee assisted by Bebe Coker who suggested the walking route and the SsAM choir singing at each station.
- Youth and Young Families collecting toiletries and each month setting up a table in Rodney Square to distribute them to the homeless of Wilmington.
- I will miss and always appreciate the care and planning that went into Sunday worship and the relationships between members of the parish.
One topic which we did not touch on in our conversation was to name the saints of SsAM that now rest in God. The include the Rev. Jeanne Linderman, the Rev. Rod Welles, Alex Tyree, Chris White, Kitty Easterly, Louise Lewis, Linda Smith, Buddy Gray, and Leroy Ames to name only a few of many saints of this parish. I remember their funerals like it was yesterday.
May the conversation that Lloyd and I began on Sunday continue as SsAM moves into a period of transition and discernment at the beginning of 2022. May the conversations you have be full of grace and truth as the one we had last Sunday.
We have a little while left before I depart, and I hope that you will consider stopping by the office to say “Hi!” and to chat for a bit. I would love to see you.
Peace,
Father David+, OA
