Haywood D. Holderness, jr. S-1322
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 January 22, 2006
A Time For All Things
Things change. Life changes. Situations change.
· One day your hair is jet black, and the next day it’s salt and pepper… or all gone.
· One day you are a care-free young couple who can do most anything during your off-time; The next day there is a baby...
· One day you are an energetic, active middle-age woman; the next day there is the stroke …
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Life is really a series of changing times and seasons, and as we all know, one of the keys to surviving in these fast moving days is learning how to deal with change. Everything around us seems to be changing … and changing at an increasingly rapid rate.
The good news about change, however, is that in spite of the consistency of God’s grace, God also changes and calls us to change. As we heard last Sunday in the Jonah narrative, God changed God’s mind about destroying Ninevah. In the Flood Story, God had declared that every creature would be destroyed, but God changed and decided to save a remnant. In the Exodus, God intended to destroy the Children of Israel after they made the golden calf, but was persuaded by Moses to change God’s mind.
Change is part of living, … an important part … and Scripture clearly says that God is not only the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, but God is very present in change … so present, that through Jesus, God calls us to become changed people, new creations. Remember the first message of both John the Baptist and of Jesus was. “Change, the kingdom of God is at hand!” As Presbyterian Christians we believe that God calls us to be reformed and always reforming.
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven,
And then we hear that familiar list: a time to be born and a time to die, a time for this and a time for that …, saying, in effect, that there is an adequate and appropriate time or season for every necessary element of life. Notice that Koheleth does not list that there is ever an appropriate time or season for oppression or murder or injustice or suffering or terrorism, but that there is always a time or season for every necessary and good element in the ebb and flow of life.
There was a time 43 years ago when some good and faithful members of First Presbyterian and Trinity Avenue Presbyterian churches decided to establish a new Presbyterian Congregation in Southwest Durham, and they risked the security and familiarity of their home churches which they loved, in order to create something new right here on the edge of Hope Valley. And they called Charlie Williams to serve as the organizing pastor.
Nine years later, Charlie left to accept a call in Bristol TN, and many of you feared that the church would fall apart, but it didn’t. After two years of searching, your Pulpit Nominating committee found a 34 year old pastor in Mobile Alabama with only 5 years of pastoral experience – about like Charlie when you called him … and you believed – as I did – that God was calling me to come to Durham and be your pastor … to live with you and to learn from you about how to be church.
I still remember Mac Bender telling me when we got here that he wanted me to unpack my suitcases and stay here until I retire. I wonder if either of us really believed that it would happen; but here I am in my 33rd year with you about to fulfill the second part of Mac’s injunction.
I realize that this is not a surprise to most of you. I have been saying for years that I intended to retire from this calling sometime around the age of 65, and that time is now. The Lord willing, I intend to leave this job on the 43rd birthday of Westminster – June 30, 2006. Both your Session and your church staff have asked me to make my announcement with as much lead time as possible. The Presbytery of New Hope had advised me to announce a date no more than 10-12 weeks in advance. They say that as soon as I announce a date, I will become a “lame duck” pastor. That may be so, but I will really try to pursue my pastoral responsibilities as best I can until the day I walk away. I am trusting the judgment of your leaders, by taking that “lame duck” risk and announcing more than 5 months in advance so that I can be honest about my unavailability for the many church events coming up this summer and fall.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
You may wonder why I have chosen to resign. Westminster is as healthy today as it ever has been… and you are as well equipped to do transition as any church could be. Second, it is time. It’s time for Westminster to have a younger, more energetic pastor. For instance, I have always loved it when children would speak to me and I could call them by name, but my brain must be filled. You need a pastor who can get down on the floor with our children and run and play with them.
Finally, I so love this job … and you ... and the many opportunities which you offer. I love it so much that I cannot seem to be able to take a day off each week. Oh, every month or so, I will get out of town for a few days, but I need some more time at home… to be with family.
Many of you have already asked me what I plan to do next. There are a lot of little things, like cleaning out the attic, doing some needed home repairs, spending more time at the coast, and reading a few of the stack of books which eagerly await my attention.
Also, there are several community ministries in Durham which have approached me about part time work with them; and there is the possibility of taking on a part-time interim ministry in another town.
The fact of the matter is that I do not have any precise plans after June 30th except traveling to Thailand in the fall for my son’s wedding I will retire from this position but will continue to do ministry of some sort for as long as I can. Mary and I intend to maintain our residence in Durham, but we will not be involved with Westminster until after you have found a new pastor and then only if that new pastor chooses to invite us back. That’s the way it has to be in order for the next pastor to establish him or herself and to lead you on into new frontiers. But more about what I plan to do, and what our relationship with one another will be later on.
Some nuts and bolts. The chairman of Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry will meet with the Session in two weeks to help us to set boundaries and to clarify the steps of transition.
As soon after June 30th as possible, the Session will call a congregational meeting to elect a Pulpit Nominating Committee which will put together the Church Information Form. (That should be relatively simple since you have just gone through that massive congregational assessment which you did last year.)
As soon after I leave as possible, the Session will call a person who will come in to serve as an interim pastor for a limited period of time. We are counting on all the rest of our staff staying at least through the interim. Your Session and Diaconate will be busier than ever before. Thanks to their leadership, you have already involved many more people in church responsibilities than ever before and that should make the interim easier and more exciting.
For everything there is a season … and this is the season for change. I look forward to seeing what the Spirit will do with you and with me in the future. And, please remember that God is more present in the midst of change than most anywhere else. The transition will be challenging, but it will also be fun. God bless us all as we walk together … and apart … through these months before us.
Amen.