The 4
th Sunday of the Easter Season is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. It is He who brings us to green pastures and clear clean water, He who feeds us and nourishes us with His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. He leads us through our priests, pastors, bishops, and pope.
There are times when we are not sure why He leads us to a place or through a place or situation, but we know that it makes an enduring impact in our lives. Those places, people, and situations are permanently sealed upon our hearts and souls.
You, St. Michael’s Parish, Tybee Island, and the journey we have been through during Lent and Easter until now and the journey we will be on for the next three months have and will mark my heart and soul and my priestly character for the rest of my life.
I came here as the Parish Administrator, knowing “administrator” is a temporary title and unsure of whether or not I would stay here long term as your Pastor. As it turns out, I will be moving on later this summer. Bishop Hartmayer has assigned me to be the Pastor at St. James Parish on Montgomery Cross Roads effective August 1
st.
These last two months have been amazing and I cannot wait to see what the next three months bring. What a blessing and privilege to have been your shepherd for these months! I hope and pray that I have been a shepherd like Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In the last few months, I have tried to lead you to green pastures and clear clean water, I have tried to lead you closer to Jesus. Please forgive me if I have not and proved to be an obstacle for you.
Fr. Jerry Ragan will come to be your Pastor effective August 1
st. He has been the Pastor of St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta for the past 15 years. Please give him the wonderful Tybee welcome you gave me and continue to give me.
There is sadness in parting as there always is when love is shared. At the same time there is excitement about the future. I look forward to seeing what God is going to do with you and me in the midst of this transition and in the years ahead. The Lord, our Good Shepherd, is leading us to new pastures and new waters. Let us take and eat, take and drink, all that He has to give us in these new adventures He is leading us into.