Conference Minister's Corner 7.1.26

Conference Minister's Corner

Rev. Linda Hirst, Acting Associate Conference Minister

7.1.26

July 1, 2026 Newsletter article

There is a brown leaf hanging on a tree outside our window. It has been hanging there for over a month while all around it the other brown leaves have dropped and been replaced by new green leaves. This leaf is not moving. It will not let go. It is hanging on for dear life. Clearly it doesn't like change (and yes, I am projecting feelings onto a leaf). Not many people like change. Even those who say they do have trouble with it sometimes. I once asked some church people how they felt about change: "We love it!" they said. Until it was time to actually change something. Worship time? Nope. The curtains? My grandmother made those curtains. By-Laws? I don't think so. This poor little brown leaf is a reminder, every single morning, that change is hard. Letting go of one thing to embrace another thing is not easy. We all know it. We've all felt it. One of my favorite sayings, which I will someday have printed on a t-shirt, goes like this: "Everything I've ever owned has claw marks on it." That is me and maybe it's you, too. All this is to say it's ok to grieve change, to be sad about letting go of things: a pastor, families in worship, by-laws, you name it. It is ok. And after we're done grieving or maybe in the midst of it, all those green leaves that come to life in spring and summer remind us that new things are ok, too.

See you in church,

Linda