August 14, 2025
Beloved Members, Ministry Leaders, and Friends of St. Stephen’s,
For the past seven years, I have felt called by God to serve as the Rector of St. Stephen’s Church. Not only have I felt called by God to serve here at St. Stephen’s, I have also greatly enjoyed the privilege of serving as your priest in this wonderful, faithful, loving and serving community of faith. Robin has also been touched by and has been glad to be a part of St. Stephen’s.
However, changes in our lives are inevitable. It is a bittersweet decision to confirm my stepping-away from St. Stephen’s as your priest and Rector, effective August 24th 2025. I will enter a time of being semi-retired, accepting some opportunities to serve God and the Church by supplying as a priest in other churches and listening for what God may be calling me to in ministry in the weeks ahead. And as you know, my wife Robin is already retired, and we are eager to travel and experience an active and exploratory second-half of life together before that becomes too difficult for us.
St. Paul opens his letter to the church at Philippi with these words: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.” Amid all the varied emotions I am currently feeling, I am definitely experiencing the joy Paul felt as he wrote to his beloved congregation. It is impossible for me to express how grateful Robin and I are to God for the privilege and pleasure of serving as your pastor/pastor’s wife. We believe God has truly blessed our ministry together. Robin and I have also been richly blessed through the loving, nurturing, and supportive faith community that is St. Stephen’s. The relationships we have formed have enriched our lives and allowed us to love and be loved in the most profound and Godly ways.
That being said, pastoral transitions are difficult. The church in its wisdom requires that pastors and churches establish and maintain healthy boundaries between departing pastors and incoming new pastors. This allows new pastoral relationships to form. These standard boundary policies apply to all pastors when they leave a congregation. Therefore, I will not be available for any pastoral or administrative duties at St. Stephen’s, including officiating or assisting at baptisms, weddings, or funerals for our church members as of August 24th 2025. If someone from St. Stephen’s requests pastoral services from me after that date, I will need to refer them to Jeff, our Senior Warden and our Deacons, Dottie and Sherry.
Once a new Vicar/Priest has begun their ministry with you and a year of their tenure has been completed, Robin and I can return with the new priest’s invitation to worship with you once more. In between, your search committee and vestry will continue the process that will lead to a new priest/Vicar of the church. I have faith that God is present in your midst to guide and bless this process and bring to this church the next pastor to lead you into your future.
One of the most important things in life is saying “good-bye” in healthy ways. I want to do this very intentionally in the coming days, culminating my in last weekend on August 23rd and 24th serving as your priest (and for those who previously RSVP’d at our planned farewell luncheon). I hope you will attend the special worship service so we may celebrate our shared ministry together.
As I said earlier, St. Stephen’s – all y’all — have truly been a blessing in my life and the life of my family. We will miss you dearly. Thank you for welcoming us into your church family. Thank you for seven years of serving, laughing, crying, and doing ministry together. Thank you for sending us off with your blessing.
God’s Peace be with you,
Rev. Allison Cornell