It’s almost a new year.

In a few short hours, 2020 will be gone. Perhaps you are making your list of New Year’s resolutions, or maybe you are looking back on what you have done in 2020. This year caused a lot of us to change our plans, so maybe it is helpful as the year closes to remember this prayer: “what has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.” (New Zealand Prayerbook).

The new year also begins a new chapter for Trinity Commons. I will be signing off, and the Rev. Emily Collette will begin her tenure as Chaplain. I am grateful for my time at Trinity Commons. College ministry is about walking with folks through a transformative time in life. It has been my privilege to walk with you, and to have you as companions on my own journey in ministry. 

As I prepared to be ordained a priest, I started thinking about what blessing I would use. The Book of Common Prayer does not prescribe the priestly blessing at the end of the Rite II Eucharist. It’s a place that the prayerbook allows some individualism and creativity. I came across a blessing by the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, a powerful preacher and social justice activist, that seemed to be relevant to the turbulent times of 2020. It was the first blessing I offered as a priest, and it seems a fitting way to close out my time at Trinity Commons and the year 2020:

May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short;
Grace to risk something big for something good; and
Grace to remember the world is now
too dangerous for anything but the truth and
too small for anything but love;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be
with you, and remain with you always.

Kelley+

Our worship will take a short break.
There will be no worship services on January 3 or 10.