On the Emmaus Road. Mary Brennan Thorpe

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      • Be gracious if the parish wants to give you a parting gift, or dedicate a project or space to your ministry among them. Even if you hate to have people say complimentary things about you, let them have that opportunity. If there are old wounds that need healing, attend to them. Forgiveness (both asking and offering) is a beautiful parting gift.

      • Make sure that all the necessary passwords or administrator log-ins have been identified for the lay leadership, all keys have been turned in, and any church credit card has been returned. Similarly, any church records or documents or files that are in your desk at home need to come back to the church, appropriately filed. If you have lived in a rectory, please clean it out as you would any apartment or home you are vacating. If there are things in the rectory that need fixing, make sure whomever is in charge of buildings and grounds in the parish is aware.

      Postdeparture (for retiring priests):

      • If you are moving to a new community, make sure that you give your new contact information to your diocesan offices, and if you are moving out of your diocese, do let your new diocese know that you’re there, whether you want to be available for supply work/interim work/consulting work or not.

      • If you are not moving to a new community, find another parish in which to worship. This may mean spending a few months attending in a variety of churches to find one that feels like a fit. Do not assume that you will have a priestly role in that place; some rectors want that and some do not. Do not automatically assume that a large parish is your best option. Particularly if you want to continue to share your priestly gifts in a helpful way, you could be a great gift to a smaller parish with a solo priest. If that is the case, make sure mutual expectations are clear. One priest we know does not want to preach anymore, but loves to preside, so the vocational deacon or the seminarian in that parish preaches when he presides. One loves to do visitations to the homebound, but no longer wants to preside or preach because of physical limitations. One simply sits in the pews. There is no one model—it’s what you want and feel called to do and what the rector/vicar/priest-in-charge feels is a good fit.

      • Do remember that, if you are married, this is the first time in a long time that you and your spouse get to worship side by side. Enjoy that blessing!