Dear Friends,

In third grade, I was taught that if March came in like a lion it would go out like a lamb. Years later, I heard an even better description of the month of March, when the swings in weather seem to suggest that spring is anything but inevitable.  “Don’t you know,” a Vermont farmer once said to me when I was complaining about winter like weather, “March is the month of reviews and previews.”

Reviews and previews: we are reminded of what has been, even as we catch glimpses of what will be. This year, the month of March at St. John’s feels like a month of reviews and previews in more ways than one. As we prepare to say “farewell,” we can’t help but remind ourselves of all the places we have been together and the ministries we have shared. At the same time, we are all looking ahead, wondering what is in store as the parish goes through this transition.

I know that I sometimes feel I am  going back and forth experiencing a variety of emotions – and it is all a bit dizzying. While that may not always feel comfortable, I do recognize that we are in a unique season right now.  The weather and the circumstances of our lives may be changing, but God is faithful.  In God I place my trust, and then smile to myself and say, “Ah, yes, it’s a season of reviews and previews, and that is alright.”

Faithfully, 

Tom