A Farewell Letter

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Over the last few weeks, so many of you have shared with me times when I said the right thing or offered encouragement that was just what you needed or encouraged your faith just by being there. You have told me how much you enjoy my sermons and how helpful they have been in your life and faith. I am so grateful to know that those are the moments you will remember from our nearly 12 years together – moments when I was at my best, serving well the Lord we all love.
 
I know there have been other moments as well – I am not Jesus, as Bishop Gayle reminded all of us at my installation as rector in 2014, and certainly, there have been many times when I’ve proven that point! I hope in the years ahead, and you will tell those stories to one another as well, maybe laughing at my foibles and forgiving my failures. Because that is what the Christian community can and should be – a place where we do our best to love one another as Christ first loved us, recognize that everyone falls short sometimes, and forgive one another’s sins gladly and generously.
 
That certainly has been my experience at St. Mark’s. When I came to you, the wounds of past conflict were healing but not yet gone. There were moments when old bitterness turned once again into active animosity, but you were all willing to take a deep breath, sit together and share your feelings, and forgive one another. Rocky relationships deepened and became sources of support and abundant life.
 
You have always been willing to try new things. When I suggested we commit to feeding 5,000 people in my third sermon, you were doubtful but embraced the challenge and held nothing back. Soon you were enthusiastically adding loaves and fishes to our campaign board and thinking up new and creative ways to address hunger in our community and our world. When I introduced the Family Easter Vigil with its chaotic energy, Jacquie Carlon assigned herself as worship assistant and literally dove into the role, spontaneously playing the part of Pharoah’s army drowned in the Red Sea. When I declared that I wanted to travel to Haiti with the Diocesan deacon for the mission, you not only gave me the time off to go, you followed a couple of years later to experience it for yourselves.
 
You were the community that held me and supported me during my children’s teen years. The church ladies listened and consoled and assured me that their children were equally awful in their teen years but were now wonderful adults who made them proud, giving me hope that this, too, would pass. I often tell people that I really do not know how anyone survives parenting teens without a church family!
 
Together, we baptized babies, confirmed teenagers, and buried beloved members of the community. We celebrated graduations and weddings, and births. We said goodbye as people moved away and welcomed them when they came back for visits.  In short, we have lived a good and faithful life together, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
 
And now, it is time for us to say goodbye. My heart is full of your kind words and warm wishes, and the ongoing work of the ministry has been handed off to the hands that take it from here. I look forward to some time off to rest and celebrate Rebecca’s college graduation and wedding – the church ladies were right! -- and then to getting to know a new congregation and taking up new ministries. I am confident your future will also include new beginnings and new ministries and that Christ will continue to walk with all of us.
 
To close, it seems only right that I turn to St. Paul, whose love for the churches he founded was surpassed only by his need to go forth to share the gospel with those who had not heard it. From 2 Corinthians 13:11-13: Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
 
Your sister in Christ,
 
Suzanne

About Reverend Suzanne

After earning a Master of Divinity degree at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Rev. Wade was ordained a deacon in June 2011 and to the priesthood in January 2012. She has been the Rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Westford since 2014. She continues in that position and also began serving as Bridge Priest at Trinity Chapel in September of 2020. She now serves as Priest in Charge.