As I see it, being a minister is something like being a player coach, like the great basketball player Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics. My role as minister calls forth to me to make decisions and advocate for what I believed is right. But I also am a member of Emerson, just like many of you. As your minister, there were times I led, that I promoted changes hopefully for the betterment of Emerson, such leaders of the church made good decisions. And there were other times, those leaders would guide me.

So, while I may be called upon to lead from time to time, that did not mean that I thought I was somehow better or more important, just someone who was put in a position to make those choices as a leader. But always, I was your friend. I hope you understand that, that I respected your opinions and cared for you. And it was a good time for me.

I like to say that there are two ways of leaving, one with a curse and the other with a blessing. With a curse, one leaves with resentment and confusion. That curse comes from blaming others. It is the notion that things did not go the way we wanted them to and that was bad. Thus, we may think that others are responsible for that bad thing. It is a sad way to leave.

But in my more than 25 years in the ministry, I have come to the conclusion that almost everyone is trying to do the best they can given what they believe. Truly, there may have been two exceptions to that view in my career as minister. And for those two, I came to the conclusion that they had psychic pain that prevented them from relating well to others.

So, leaving with a curse can be a burden. One then carries unpleasant feelings that sour existence, causes confusion and prevents one from experiencing joy.

But leaving with a blessing gives a different result. A blessing comes from the notion that we all tried our best, that we are imminently human which means we made our mistakes, but are forgivable, and that we had given each other important gifts, the most important being friendship. And with that in mind, we can then find joy in our lives.

I want to share with you something I wrote in my very first column of this newsletter. It concerned a thought I had about ministry:

Well, it has been a pure pleasure being with you and I loved being your minister and your friend. And so, I leave you with this blessing: Walk with the sense of the joy of life beside you. Walk with confidence that you will face life’s difficulties with courage and serenity. And walk beside me and be my friend even when I am far away.

Faithfully yours,

Harold