Dear Hot Metal Community,

These past weeks have flown by, and we are now preparing for our final week together as pastor and congregation. I'll save all the mushy stuff for next week's letter and our celebration on Sunday, August 20th. I hope you'll be able to join us then!

This Sunday we'll be joined by Rev. Louise Rogers, Associate Presbyter of the Pittsburgh Presbytery to have a Congregational Meeting, most formally to "dissolve the Pastoral Relationship." That's Presbyterian for "saying goodbye on paper, setting boundaries, and communicating next steps." Your Council and leadership are hard at work shaping those next steps and making sure all parts of how we function as a community are covered in the coming months. 

Here's what the Committee on Ministry communicates as appropriate boundaries of a former pastor. I will be abiding by these guidelines when I leave, in addition to best practices I have found as I have left other communities. 

Former pastors should offer neither solicited nor unsolicited pastoral counsel to their former congregants. If they become concerned about developments in their former congregation, they should communicate such concerns only to the presbytery ministerial staff, and not to the church’s session or members.

Healthy relationships between congregations and former pastors may include the following forms of contact:

Pastoral
- Occasional consultation to maintain institutional memory and goodwill
- Collegiality between former and successor pastors

Congregational. At the invitation of the new pastor. 
- Occasional attendance at services and special events, such as dedications and anniversaries
- Sharing bereavement, by attending funeral services
- Occasional assistance in ministry

Social
- Maintenance of personal friendship with a few members, provided there is a clear understanding that the relationship is social and not pastoral.

Some details about how I live these boundary expectations out: I have already communicated to Council and those with whom I expect to maintain a personal friendship, mostly those families who are connected with Griffin as playmates and important grown-ups for him. If you see me engaging with members, it's not because I love them more than I love you, but I am prioritizing his transition and well-being. 

I also will not engage with members on Social Media. I may unfriend some, but even if we remain officially connected, I will not like or comment. Know that your posts will make me smile and I will be praying for big developments you share, just without the formal thumbs-up or heart. 

Some of these boundaries are for how I will always now interact with this community, and they are all set in stone, no exceptions, for at least one year into a new called pastor's service. We in ministry find that means the best chance of success for whoever God is calling next, and is healthiest for the community, even though it feels harsh. I am so grateful that Pastor Jeff Eddings modeled this so well when he left; it was a true gift for me to be able to establish my own ministry. I hope to be able to offer that same gift to the next person. 

I know sometimes hearing these boundaries laid out feels shocking. Please know they have been formed and put in place out of a deep love for God's church, and through the trial and error of many communities. There is no perfect way to leave such a special community, but my hope is to do so by leaving you the healthiest way I know how. I love you very much and will be so grateful for our last two Sundays together. 

In Christ,

Pastor Erin

PS LaChan Russell will be getting baptized this Sunday!!! Even if you don't want to stay for boring official things, come celebrate and officially welcome her into the Body of Christ with the water, Word, and cake!