The "In-Between" Times

We are in what C. S. Lewis called the ‘In-Between’ times. He was saying that the Christian Church lives in a period of time between the Ascension of Jesus Christ and his Second Coming. This is ‘interim’ in the ‘really big picture’ sense.

There are other pictures of in-between times not quite as big: Abraham and the patriarchs lived in the time between the promises God made and the realization of those promises, fulfilled when Joshua led the people into the Land of Promise. In that sense, Moses was an interim minister. Ezekiel was the prophet of interim times. The time between Malachi and John the Baptist was an interim time. The time between the Resurrection and Pentecost was an ‘in-between’ time.

Our lives are marked by ‘in between times.’ Engagements, honeymoons and pregnancies are transition times. Apprenticeships and internships are interim periods. College should be so considered. Anyone who wants college to be more than that will become simply a perpetual student: of use neither to oneself nor to anyone else.

All of this is to introduce the idea that St. Dunstan’s is in such an ‘in-between time.’ But this is simply not a time of waiting and wasting. It is meant to be a time of preparing, evaluating, planning and deciding. There are four things to be done in this ‘in-between' time:

1. Come to terms with the history of St. Dunstan’s.

You as a church family have done an amazing thing in growing this community--introducing so many to Jesus, providing care for families and creating a worship environment to meet the living God. Now your old rector has retired. Your collective history includes so much: stories, tests, anecdotes, joys, sorrows, lives changed, and services rendered, people born and people buried, tasks accomplished and initiatives taken. It will be out of that history that a new chapter will be penned by the Holy Spirit. All need to take a new look at this past - celebrate it, repent of some of it and learn from all of it.

2. Discover a new identity and mission.

Psalm 96 encourages us to ‘sing a new song unto the Lord.’ When a rector leaves, a church loses its captain. Now is the time to look intently and honestly at the congregation to sort through what the parish is and where it is going. Simply thinking that things should be as they have been is not the way to sing a new song. Jesus has certainly not left the church, but there is a need to understand and see the future in a new way. It does not mean that we have to reinvent the wheel, but we do have to get new tires.

3. Allow and Empower new leaders.

When a rector leaves, the network of function with a parish usually shifts. Some people who were under heavy stress or simply tired will move out of current roles. Others will find this an exciting time to get involved. Some others will take an ‘emergency room’ view, and attempt to do triage. Others will put themselves in a neutral role to see what happens. This is the time to reveal the systems of St. Dunstan’s--who makes decisions and how they are made.

4. Renew links with the Diocese and Greater Church and the Anglican Communion.

We are a part of a Christian family that is larger than St. Dunstan’s. The interim time is a time to examine these relationships. You will need these as you prepare to seek, find, and call a new rector. The support of the diocese in the search process, the goodwill of neighbors and the names of potential rectoral candidates all bring a renewed sense of this greater reality.

In all of this, I have been called to be your interim priest. I am not simply a supply priest. I am here to assist you in making this interim period a constructive time. I propose to do this. Let us do it together. To use an athletic metaphor, the interim time is really practice time. And as Vince Lombardi said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.” Such should be the quality of our ‘in- between time’ together.

Love and peace,

Father Tom