I Am Still Here

Greetings Friends, 
 
As my time with you begins to wane, I find my mind increasingly three steps ahead. The greatest sources of belonging in my life — my family, my friends, my partner, and school — feel within physical reach for the first time in months, and the magnetic pull they exert over my attention is all-consuming. 
 
And yet, I am still here. That’s the refrain I’ve been repeating each morning, grounding myself before my mind drifts too far forward. This tension has been one of the gifts and challenges of interim ministry: learning to live in the thin space between the now and the next. 
 
It’s certainly not easy to hold both — to be fully present in this place while also excitedly awaiting a return to my usual rhythm — but in many ways, this is not a pressure that is unique to ministry. We are all in a process of becoming; always somewhere between arriving and departing; always walking with others for a season, whether we know it or not. 
 
Despite this struggle, our summer theme of ubuntu — “I am because we are” — offers wisdom and reminds us that belonging is rarely singular. We do not belong only to one place, one people, or one purpose. Rather, we are constantly navigating overlapping circles of connection, which sometimes harmonize and sometimes pull us in different directions. That tug is not a failure of commitment, nor does it signal a lack of belonging; it’s a sign of life, love, and movement 
 
So if you, too, ever find yourself in that in-between space, know that you are not alone. Perhaps you’re feeling it now, as we all look ahead with anticipation to Pastor Thandiwe’s return next week. In honor of this season of transition, I hope you can join us in worship on Sunday, August 31st, as we celebrate both my release and Thandiwe’s return. It will surely be a joyous expression of the beauty and complexities of belonging we’ve explored together this summer. 
 
I look forward to all that this final week will continue to teach me. Because I am still here, and so are you. 
 
With peace and gratitude, 
Delaney