December 31, 2014, was my last day as Designated Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Westchester, CA. On January 15, 2015, I began serving as Transitional Pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Idaho Falls, ID.

Ending one ministry and beginning another is always a major transition and this one involved a whole host of transitions, and contrasts from there to here, from then to now:
from the Southern California climate of year round sunshine and warm moderated by ocean breezes to high altitude desert accented by period of strong winds;
from seasons marked by which plants are blooming to the full four seasons, not necessarily experienced consecutively;
from urban LA congestion and concrete to rural/small city open spaces and big sky;
from blue state to red state;
from Pacific to Mountain Time;
from being 10 minutes from a huge international airport, LAX, to being 10 minutes from a small, regional airport;
from a large, diverse, multi-ethnic presbytery to a very small presbytery;
from small, 1950’s built ranch house on a narrow street with few trees to a large, 1990’s built custom home with lots of cabinets, closets, storage, large windows, plus large trees, and very wide streets;
from a daily newspaper with regular coverage of the entertainment industry to a daily newspaper with regular coverage of agriculture and the national energy lab;
from a wardrobe of light layers, bright colors, and sandals to
from a small church to a large church;
from a place where I arrived as a stranger, to a place where I used to live and work and worship, and feels like coming home again.
And I have come home, to the church where my children were baptized, where I was ordained an elder, where I studied Keryma, where I was involved as a volunteer, where I was on staff as Director of Adult Ministries. I am now serving the congregation – and many of the same people – which nurtured, encouraged, and called forth gifts for ministry, sending me off to seminary 25 years ago. I’m here to shepherd and coach and encourage them in their time of transition between pastors, so that together we can reflect on what has been and imagine what might be, just what God has in mind for us next. Transitions! How scary but how exhilarating to discover what God has in store for us next.