May 15, 2023
Dear Grace Community,
I write to tell you that I am taking a new call. My last Sunday with you is June 18.
In June of 2010, you first called me as your pastor (associate pastor actually). None of us knew what the next thirteen years would hold, and I never imagined we would be together as pastor and congregation for such a long and rich time.
Being elected as pastor isn’t what makes someone the pastor. Having the title ‘pastor’ in the bulletin isn’t what makes someone the pastor. At some point you decided that I was your pastor. It happened as we planned the funeral for your loved one, or I visited your home, or we studied scripture together, or shared joys and concerns in a meeting. Some of you needed a pastor and decided to give me a chance. For those of you who’ve come since I’ve been here, I always say that you join a church and not a pastor, but it was important that we connect.
Being your pastor is one of the great privileges of my life. Being entrusted with your pain and joy is an honor I do not take lightly. That you trusted me to lead this sacred place you call your church is a gift. Plus, you’re fun and interesting people whom I love. You were there when John and I got married and when Alice was baptized. I’m a preacher’s kid (PK) raising a PK, and Grace has been everything I hoped for Alice. She knows that she is valued and loved.
The call I’m taking is not to another church. Later this week an announcement goes out from the Presbytery of Southern Kansas putting forward my name as the Mission and Ministry Connector. It will be finalized at a meeting in two weeks. This is a new and experimental position which seeks to empower and connect small member churches in our presbytery who don’t have pastors and probably never will again. I believe God is calling me to be part of this new way of doing church.
My family will stay in Wichita but will not be connected at Grace so that you can move forward. I believe that Grace is positioned to move forward well. In many ways Grace is a different place than it was when I came, but the commitment to loving God and neighbor are the same. The personnel team and Session will start communicating with you soon about next steps.
I will not have the chance to reach out to everyone individually before I leave, but I encourage you to come by the office or call and set up a time for us to talk. I leave town tomorrow to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday but will be in worship on Sunday.
In Christ,
Catherine Neelly Burton
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