Vicar’s Message

January 11, 2024

This move comes after a time of discernment and prayer about where God is calling me to serve, and I find in this new opportunity a chance to share with the broader Church the many lessons I’ve learned with you all about being church in joyful, adventurous, and new, creative ways. Holy Spirit and Abundant Life express God’s transforming love and grace and have helped me grow as we worked together to create a place of humble and expansive welcome. I want to thank each and every one of you for your faith and friendship, for being you, and for your ministry in our community.

Leaving is not easy. We’ll want time over the coming weeks to celebrate, offer blessings, say the things we’ve been wanting to say, and of course, we’ll work on the details of transition with the help of our Diocesan partners like the Rev. Canon Earnest Graham and Catherine Massey, Canon to the Bishop and long serving transition officer with our diocese. I am grateful for the leadership of these two communities and for our partners at the Diocese, and I will be working with you all for the duration of my time among you.

The deep relationships we have built together in Christ over the years will now shift and change. While it may be difficult, for the sake of moving forward together as communities with a mission and shared ministry, after my final days of work I will step away from worship, social events, communications, social media, and other parts of the life of our congregation. While Jen will be remaining for a time in Greensboro for her work, she too will be stepping away from active participation with Holy Spirit and Abundant Life. Leaving is not easy, and both Jen and I want to express our gratitude for you all and for the ways this wide community has blessed us. Thank you.

Much of the amazing and exciting works we began together will continue, and while transitions can be messy, they are also opportunities to welcome people with their many gifts and new energy into these ministries. Our leadership teams, assisted by our Diocesan support staff, will be communicating and inviting you to discern where you would like to offer your faithful time, talents, and treasure as Holy Spirit and Abundant Life move forward in mission and ministry.

We’ll have more opportunities to celebrate, but I want to share some of the marvelous ways I’ve witnessed the Holy Spirit of Christ guiding us over these past 7 years:

• We moved through covid pandemic together, learning along the way how to stay connected to long-time friends and discovering the joy of new friends because we centered Jesus’ call to prioritize connection and relationship with those outside the church.

• We are fulfilling a long-time dream of offering the church property as a blessing to our community; in partnership with Mills Construction, much-needed affordable housing and community green space are becoming a reality.

• We have valued relationships across lines of difference and intentionally grown our capacity to sing, pray, celebrate, and care about each other as a bilingual community with our Spanish-speaking neighbors.

• We have opened our space as a mid-week place for Abundant Life to grow a ministry where access to health care, food security, mental health, and spiritual care in our neighborhood can happen in collaboration and mutual care.

• We have opened a partnership with UNCG Public Health Education to welcome students who join us as interns, bringing their energy and passion for serving; in the process, we have been blessed to offer our love, wisdom, and a place for spiritual growth as they prepare for lives of public service.

There is more I could say and more praise to God for all the blessings shown me through these communities, but for now, I just want to say thank you.

Faithfully yours in the Peace and Love of Jesus Christ,

Audra