September 22, 2003
 

Dear Members and Friends of Old South:

I write to let you know I have been called to serve as Pastor of Payson Park Church in Belmont, Massachusetts. On Sunday, September 21st a congregational meeting was held after I led worship there and a vote was taken, making this call official.

Of course it is with a sense of sadness as well as excitement that I bring you this news. Serving Old South since the fall of 1995 has been a great privilege. Through my ministry first as the Pastoral Associate, then the Assistant Minister, and now as your Associate Minister, my years with you all have been richly blessed with joyful opportunities for service as well as times of faithful challenge. I thank each of you for your support of my ministry and for your dedication to Old South through these years.

As you may imagine, accepting this new call is a decision that comes at the end of a time of great prayerful discernment. Payson Park is a congregation of the United Church of Christ of over 150 members committed to outreach and mission, supporting a strong music program and offering space to not only a preschool but also area programs for the performing arts. I look forward to preaching the gospel weekly, teaching adults and youth, and leading service and social justice projects as well as providing pastroal care. Etched in stone above the door one enters to come into the sanctuary are the words, "Love Never Faileth."

While it is difficult to consider leaving Old South I know that the transition team in place is a strong one. As you know so well, under the leadership of our Interim Senior Minister, Carl Schultz, as with the continued dedication of Jennifer Mills-Knutsen, and the ministry of Guy Pealer, Gregory Peterson, Patricia Hazeltine, and Ken Orth -- not to mention our devoted lay leaders and administrators -- this interim time is sure to continue smoothly. Truly this is a period when Old South is entering a new era -- and God's grace and guidance are clear in it. I am glad to have assisted in getting this transition underway.

In preparation for my move to Belmont it has been decided, in consultation with Carl Schultz and the Staff Relations Committee, that I will complete service at Old South on Sunday, November 9th, giving me a chance to have a time of study and reflection before starting at Payson Park on January 4th. I look forward to preaching on that Sunday in November and am also happy that the Rev. Tom Clough, Minister of the Metropolitan Boston Association, will be present to offer what in the United Church of Christ is called an "Order for Times of Passage," a farewell ritual in which we can celebrate our years together and recognize that while I will be continuing to minister in this region I will no longer be your pastor.

In the weeks ahead I look forward to expressing my gratitude to you personally for our years of worship and service together. For now, let me say again how glad I am God has brought us together for these last eight years. As we know from the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, "for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." I will forever be thankful for the faith and love and joy we have been blessed to nurture in this time and place.
 

Faithfully from Your Servant in Christ,

Lael

Celebration Luncheon Set for November 9 A luncheon in Lael's honor will be held at Old South immediately after our last worship together with Lael & Matthew on Sunday, November 9. Lael has truly gone "above and beyond" in her service and commitment to Old South. We look forward to this opportunity to appreciate Lael's many gifts. We encourage your tax deductible donations to Old South Church for this event. They will be used by the Church to defray the cost of the celebration, mark Lael's and Matthew's many contributions to and on behalf of Old South, and to express our love and affection for them with appropriate gifts and a purse. Please send your donations, payable to Old South Church to: Old South Church 645 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116* Attn: Business Office (*Note: if you received a return envelope in the mail  with incorrect zip code, please correct to 02116)

Photo by Lise Beane