As an interim minister I accompany congregations through their middles. These are the times between ministries, between sizes, between buildings or identities. Middles are marked by change, an alteration, a variation, or modification that leaves something or someone different. Middles are usually not the most comfortable places to be whether we are there by choice or by chance. Human beings enjoy predictability competence, clarity, and closure, all of which are distinctly absent in most middles. This is what can make a middle feel bad. Being in a place that feels bad does not mean anyone did anything wrong. It does not mean we are incompetent. Middles are unpredictable and create a distinct lack of clarity—not exactly a feel good kind of place.
Being in any middle requires patience, awareness, and appreciation for not knowing. This is where I come in. I am here to walk with you, be your witness, your confidant, your cheerleader, and your advocate. I will not tell East Shore what to do. I will listen. I will offer feedback when asked. I will be a resource and a comfort. I will probably tell you things you do not really want to hear. When I do you can trust that I have no agenda other than your success and well being. Anything that I tell you is public information while anything you tell me will be held in confidence unless you instruct me otherwise. The most important things to remember about our interim middle are:
It absolutely feels like it will be like this forever.
It absolutely will not be like this forever.
We have to be in the middle until we are not.
So, we begin. Like the cream in the Oreo, this is a very rich time. Sandwiched between a beginning and an ending, it comes, like most middles, with a wide range of individual and communal reactions. Together we will stay in the excitement, the disappointment, the anger, the confusion, the hurt and the hope, right smack in the middle, until you are not.
Much metta,
Elaine
