Pastor Kathi McShane 

As I leave for two months of renewal and formation leave, I have just two more thoughts I want to be sure I leave you with.  One is my deep gratitude to Carl Thomas for stepping in as pastor while I am gone.  I have great confidence in him, and know that he will serve you, and First Church, well in my absence.

The second thing is also about gratitude—for the radical hospitality that this church showed during our United Methodist Annual Conference that happened June 15-19 at the Convention Center.  Someone from every group that met here made a point of finding me at the conference to tell me what gracious kindness and helpfulness they experienced through the many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and meetings that they had at the church.  It made me proud again (I feel that often!) to be the pastor of this church.  Thank you especially to the staff—Dianne, Johnny, Richard and Johnny, Jr.—and all the volunteers, guided by Roberta Smith and the MOMS group, for the many hours of generous and self-giving work that made it such a good experience for so many people.

Thank you again for making this leave possible for me.  I am praying for your renewal too, this summer, as I settle into mine.

Love and blessings, 

Kathi