To the St. John the Baptist Community,

I wanted to thank you for my lovely flowers and generous check to support our upcoming trip to Jerusalem and for the other gifts to honor David’s ministry with you. But more importantly, I wanted to thank you for your gracious warmth in welcoming this “sometimes in attendance” priest’s wife throughout these past three years. Your unfailing hospitality attests to you true understanding of what it means to “welcome all” through your red doors.

I also offer you my sincere and genuine thanks for being the shepherds you were to David. Being given the opportunity to complete his ministry in St. John the Baptist community was a blessing neither he nor I could have ever predicted when we left St. Andrew’s School in 2018. One of my favorite sayings is “you meet the people you are supposed to meet in life,” and I (and we) truly feel that David was supposed (perhaps destined) to meet up with all of you. At St. Andrews in his role as school chaplain, David often felt that he was preaching each week to 350 young minds questioning and discerning whether religion had any relevance in their lives, 350 young people who came to chapel not because they wanted to but because they had to and would often wish they were doing something else. So it was with great joy that David found, for three years, a community of people who loved their church, who came because they wanted to, and had a deep and abiding faith. He often said, “I love St. Johns’s because the people love their church.” And that fact was palpable each time I attended any event, church service or any kind of gathering. This was a gift, and you made it happen.

One of my favorite authors, Alexandra Fuller, who writes memoirs about her time growing up in Africa, titled one of her books, “Leaving before the rains come, because by then it is too late.” Sad though it was for David to leave, this was the right time and your love and support allowed him to retire in dignity and with grace. I thank you deeply for that.

We will always be indebted to you all, and we wish you well in your next journey and chapter in the life of the church.

Peace,