Friday Update for January 9, 2026
Dear Friends,
Before we move on from the Christmas season, I want to share my gratitude for all those who made the Advent and Christmas seasons at St. Paul’s so beautiful – from the soul-tending weekday eucharists, to Advent Quiet Day, to the joy and generosity of St. Nicholas Day, to the Pageant, to glorious choral music, bell choirs and brass ensembles that lifted our imaginations and illumined our hearts and minds, to the Altar Guild’s festive greening of the church. It was such a joy! All of it.
Sadly, as the new year begins, the dark powers of the world have wasted no time returning to the business of slaughtering innocents and waging war. Yet, because of Christ’s coming, what we have in our grips is a Light that darkness cannot overcome. As a community that gathers around the Christ Light, we will continue to warm ourselves by it and carry it into dark places, singing. This is our mission as a church.
Sometime during February, within a matter of weeks, your vestry expects to announce that a new rector has been called to gather you and help equip you for your mission. The Rector Search Committee has done truly excellent and hard work to get you to this point, and they have communicated to the vestry and to me how blessed they feel to have been given such wonderful candidates.
It may be a few months yet before your new rector arrives, but as you prepare for this next chapter it is now time for me to begin winding down my interim service at St. Paul’s. As it happens, and a bit sooner than anticipated, I’ve been offered a new position as a chaplain to the Glenaire Retirement Community here in Cary. Chaplaincy is a new ministry role for me, a role for which I have been preparing for some time.
Even as I start this ministry at Glenaire on January 26, I will continue supporting St. Paul’s through your rector transition to the best of my ability. With the bishop’s permission, the vestry and I have worked out a plan for me to continue serving at St. Paul’s through mid- to late-April. I will be at St. Paul’s leading worship every Sunday (except Jan 18 when we’ll be celebrating my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday in Ohio.) While I will be less available during weekday business hours, I will continue to oversee the liturgical schedule, convene staff meetings each Monday, consult with the wardens and vestry on critical matters, and enlist whatever priestly support is needed to cover the needs of the parish until your new rector arrives. Fr. Robert, Candy, and Erica will continue serving faithfully in their current roles and The Revs. Cathy Deats, Carr Holland, and Frank Hubbard will join the rotation of homilists and liturgists on a slightly more regular basis over the next few months.
As I’ve noted, I’m not going anywhere right away. So, this certainly is not “goodbye.” But one day soon, I look forward to meeting your new rector and sharing what a joy it’s been to serve as your interim. Then we’ll say “farewell” for a while.
You are an exceptionally gifted congregation, St. Paul’s, with ambitious vision and strong leadership. You care for one another and you are generous. Now is the time for you to step boldly together into the future; and the future begins now!
This comes with Love,
Sarah+