Dear First Baptist Church,
In the midst of the whirlwind of transition, I don’t fully have the words to express my deep love and gratitude for each and every one of you. For the past 11+ years, you have loved and nurtured our whole family and you have loved and nurtured me personally. When we first arrived at First Baptist in the spring of 2012, I was in the process of graduating from seminary and working towards ordination. You all embraced my own sense of call to vocational ministry from Day One. You celebrated my graduation from seminary and even traveled to Chattanooga to attend my ordination to the Gospel ministry. Thank you for valuing women in ministry and church leadership. Thank you for valuing me as a minister in my own right and my sense of call to serve in faith-based nonprofit leadership. For years, I have been so honored when you have introduced me to newcomers by saying, “This is our pastor’s wife and she’s also a minister. You should hear her preach!” Thank you for going out of your way to be affirming of God's calling on the lives of both men and women. We have been proud to raise our children at First Baptist, where they have been loved and nurtured in the faith by strong women and men. Thank you for pouring yourselves into both Zeb and Ellen. Thank you for the way you have shown interest in them for who they are– you have attended cross country meets, walked the path with them in Cuba, shared your camping equipment with them when you learned about their zeal for the outdoors, texted them encouraging notes, given them goodies before fun trips, and sent them handwritten cards and notes of encouragement along the way. Thank you for loving and supporting Jeff through his father’s death, his completion of his doctorate, his walk of grief with his mother’s memory loss, and his journey of pastoral leadership here in our beloved mountains. We have cherished our time with you and love you deeply. You will always be such an integral part of our family’s story and our faith story. Thank you for how you have molded and shaped us. Our family is a stronger ministry family because of being a part of you these past 11+ years. Thank you for sharing the love of Christ with us. You will always be a part of our story and we will always be a part of yours. As the Servant Song says, “We are travelers on a journey, fellow pilgrims on the road.”
With love,
Rebecca (Your Fellow Pilgrim)