Children’s ministry
I announced to the congregation on Sunday that we have hired Susan Driggers as our new Children’s Coordinator at Wright’s Chapel. Most of you know that Molly resigned from her church position in September and since then we have been working through our Staff Parish Relations Team searching for a replacement to begin January 1, 2018.
Molly and Susan
Molly has begun to clean out her office, which if you’ve ever seen Molly’s office, she probably is getting a late start in order to be done by January 1. I am happy for Molly, for she seems happy and at peace with this transition she is making. Molly and I have worked closely together now for 14 years at Wright’s Chapel. I am humbled, grateful and also proud of the all work we have done for Christ through our church and for the community we serve. You look in Molly’s office and some folks see only a mess, while others see all the creative projects and ministries that have shaped our children’s life of faith in such positive ways. I am also very pleased that Molly and I have been able to maintain good working and family relationships over so many years. It has not always been easy to figure out the balance between work and family and when those lines can cross and when they need to remain separate. I am thankful for all the ways that Molly has supported me, put up with me, calmed me down and made our church a better place because of the ministry she has done with our children and adults. I appreciate the grace and positive way she has helped with the transition that is about to take place and for all her help in searching for her replacement. Molly will still be involved and engaged at Wright’s Chapel. She plans to worship here, volunteer here and work here part time doing our accounting and book keeping.
I am also excited to be welcoming Susan to a new role in our church as she takes Molly place as the coordinator of our Children’s Ministry. Susan will begin in her new role officially on January 1. Susan brings a variety of gifts to the position. She has been a teacher in our pre-school now for several years and has been a valuable volunteer with our youth program. She has been working as our communication coordinator for about a year and will continue in that role even as she assumes these new responsibilities. In some instances Susan will carry on with the programs and ministries that we have established in the past and she will bring her own gifts and new ideas to them. In other instances Susan will bring change, new ideas and new ministries we will want to consider. Susan will not do everything Molly did and Susan will do some things Molly did differently. Susan has already told me that she is not comfortable preaching when I am not here. I told her that is not a requirement to be a great children’s coordinator. We want her to love children and to be ready to share and teach the faith in order to make disciple of Jesus Christ who will transform the world. Because Susan comes to this position with a different background than did Molly, we are providing her with training opportunities and mentoring that will give her new insights and ideas about how to best do her job. I hope that we all will offer our support and encouragement to Susan as very shortly she turns a new page in her life and helps us to turn to a new page in the life of our church.
I have no idea what Susan’s office will look like, but I can’t wait to see what creativity she brings come January 1.
