The Rev. Bruce McPherson, Priest-in-Charge

I am writing to tell you something of myself and to give thanks to God for being called to serve you and the Church in College Park. My excitement about beginning a new ministry with you is muted by my concern, which I know you share, for Martha Wallace, whose ministry at St. Andrews was so untimely shortened. Martha is returning to good health slowly and will, in God’s time, serve the church in another place. Though her stay at St. Andrew’s was brief, she will be greatly missed.

Much has changed at St. Andrew’s in the recent past and much has stayed the same, just as much has changed in College Park and much has stayed the same. Of course, this can also be said of the larger Church and of the world. The questions we will address together will be questions relating to the changes that have occurred and how the community of St. Andrews is called to adapt to new circumstances, if at all. For many years now it has been my vocation, my calling, to serve congregations that are in the midst of change and to help in that discernment process. It is my privilege and my joy.

This transitional time, the time in between times, is tremendously important in the life of the church, just as it is in our own lives. Times of change are times of growth and new understanding, if we take the risk of embracing the changed circumstances and learning from them.

William Bridges, a leading secular consultant in the area of change management, points out that change is not really the issue. Change happens continually. The issue is how we adapt to changed circumstances. Bridges refers to the time of greatest opportunity for growth as the “Neutral Zone” that time when we are learning to let go of the old reality in order to embrace the new. It is a challenging time because the shape of the new is not always clear. He writes, “The neutral zone is both a dangerous and an opportune place, and it is at the very core of the transition process. It is the place where the old habits that are no longer adaptive to the situation are extinguished and the new, better-adapted patterns of habit begin to take shape. It is the winter when old growth returns to the soil as decayed matter, while next year’s growth begins to stir in the roots underground. It is the seedbed of the new beginning that you seek.” The neutral zone, the interim time, he says, is a sacred time.

All of this is with one objective in mind: to do the best we can to see to it that your next Rector is the very person that God has called to lead the people of St. Andrew’s into the next chapter of its life, however you might envision that chapter to be. In short, we will discern together where you believe God is calling your church and what are the leadership qualities your Rector should possess.

In Genesis, God speaks to Abraham and says, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-2) God will show us the way and, if we trust in that, you will be a blessing to all.

I am thrilled to be called to serve you and look forward to getting to know everyone.

Faithfully,
Bruce