As my season of serving as the Senior Pastor of our beloved church comes to a close, I take time to thank those who have assisted me in my administrative capacity as pastor. For the most part, my interactions with the majority of our congregation were on Sunday as we gathered for worship.
However, there was group of members who I interacted with weekly as they attended Bible Study. Then there were those whom I had monthly interactions with over the years in various ministries like our Married Couples Ministry. Yet, there are/were those who saw me on a regular basis 4-5 times
a week—the administrative support staff—people who assisted me in all matters pertaining to church administration. They were the ones who made sure everything was ready when members came to church on Sunday or held their weekly/monthly ministry meetings.
The office staff made sure the bulletin was printed and available for service. The staff took telephone calls and made me aware of our members’ moments of challenge as well as their times of celebration. It was the office staff who helped me prepare for Bible Study and it was a staff person who mopped the floors and made sure the pews were clean on Sunday morning. They are/were the unsung heroes who enabled the spiritual organism that we call the church operate as a well-oiled business organization.
As I leave pastoral ministry at our church, I am forever grateful of working with: Cassandra Duster, Ben Gadson, Ashley Webb, Leilani Assante, Deaconess Lois Ward, Deaconess Clem Raspberry, Deaconess Elizabeth Knox, Deaconess Valencia Miller, Julian Hailes, Cassandra Newsome, Mr. Curtis Lambert, George Butler, Edmundo Lambert, Vivian Wilson, John Danzler, Gail Cullen and Robin Robinson.
Lastly, it is impossible for a pastor to cast a vision for the church and then execute that vision without the financial support and cooperation of those in charge of the church finances. I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Chair of the Trustee Board, Leonard Jones, and Treasurer
James Coleman who helped me and our church tremendously. They helped transition Gethsemane from a
predominantly manually financial operations to a fully automated and digitized institution. They were succeeded by Freida Seward and Rick Banks, respectively, who today continue to build on the firm foundation of their predecessors. Suffice it to say, I am thankful for all of the
leaders and members of the various ministries in our church, but I just take time to say thanks to those who I worked with during the week for the past twenty years.
To all, every shut eye ain’t sleep and every “So long” isn’t goodbye.
Pastor K