During services on Sunday January 13th, it was announced that this summer, The Rev’d Pamela Rayment and her family will make their way to St. Clement’s Church, Toronto where she has been appointed as the Associate Priest for Parents and Families. While Emmaus is sad to say good-bye, all wish Rev. Pam well in this new ministry.
Here are Rev. Pam words to Emmaus:
“As Jeremy, Logan and I engaged in prayer and discernment, it became clear that God was and is leading the way through this huge change for us. Some of the signs that led us in making this decision were the uniqueness of the position itself in relation to my passion for family ministry, the fact that Logan will be attending university in Toronto in the Fall, and the chance to be closer to Jeremy’s family, namely my brother and sister-in-law who welcomed twins this past summer.
All that said, we still have a little more than five months to take part in ministry together. To worship together, pray together and work together, all to the glory of God. In a few short weeks, we will gather for our third Annual Vestry as Emmaus and your wardens, the board and I look forward to sharing with you some of the visioning work we have been engaging in over the past year, which will serve Emmaus well in imagining and praying into the future.
Finally, I want to express my love and gratitude for each and every one of you – for those active in weekly worship, those unable to be here regularly and those who make up part of this community in other ways. You have all been part of many firsts in this wonderful journey into ordained ministry. You have supported me and my family in more ways than I can name and you will remain in my heart always.
As I’ve lived into ordained in ministry, I’ve known that it is, and always will be, filled with joy and with difficulty, but until this time of transition, I don’t think I understood the depth of how difficult it could be. Yet in the midst of the difficulty, joy remains. The joy that we serve a God who is bigger than all of the difficulties and changes that are put in our path.
Emmaus is a strong community, born out of the willingness to follow God’s lead, born out the willingness to embrace change, and born out of the willingness to journey together for the sake of sharing Christ’s love in this place and in this city. None of that changes. God is still leading and has indeed gone before us, preparing the way as the journey of joy in Jesus continues.”
It may not seem much like spring yet, but it’s still time to move the clocks forward by an hour before bed this Saturday night! See you all at service on Sunday, March 10th [8:30am or 10:30am], hopefully at the correct time… and with an extra cup of coffee for all the non-early risers!
