Our News

I'm guessing that just about anyone who reads my blog has already heard the news, since I called my family right away, but I don't want to start talking about packing boxes on here until I make a formal blog announcement.

That's right. We're moving. After 8 1/2 years in Las Cruces, at Morning Star United Methodist Church, Jon has been asked to take another appointment. He got a call from the bishop last Wednesday with an offer that we did not feel we could or should refuse.

Take a deep breath.

We will be Texans.

There, I said it. My poor father will have half of his children and 4/5 of his grandchildren living in Texas. Luckily, our future part of Texas practically counts as New Mexico, since they are in the same time zone and don't have twangy accents.

We're moving to El Paso by July 1. Jon will be the new senior pastor at St. Mark's United Methodist Church on the West side of El Paso. (www.loveroad.org)

We are excited for the new opportunities and challenges. We are relieved that we will still be quite close to family. We are heartbroken about all the hearts we are breaking by accepting this appointment.

The announcement on Sunday was quite a shock to our lovely church. The sad morning will always stay with me. The entire congregation gasped at the first service. There were shouts of, "no!" when the news was learned by the second service, and there were tears all morning long. Even Jon cried during communion when he had to face the sad faces of those who do not want to see him go. I made sure our kids were not there for the morning, and I am so glad they were spared. It is overwhelming to be loved so much. We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams at Morning Star, and we have more true friends than we could have imagined.

The next few months will be full of many transitions. Some are good (I won't have to work). Some are bad (we have built our lives here, and we will leave it all behind to start again). And most are uncertain (what will St. Mark's think of a young, new-ish, pastor taking over the senior role?). Please be thinking of us and especially of Morning Star during this time.