Lord of Life,
I cannot believe I am wrapping up my internship. I know I’m transitioning into new chapters of life, as I am newly married, Justin and I are consolidating our finances, and I’m moving back to Louisville for at least the Summer, but hard for my brain to register that I am now at the end of my time with you all. The office is planning events that I will not be around to attend. Parishioners are seeking me to ask about my next steps and give me well wishes.
Perhaps I’ve disconnected my next chapters with the reality that I am turning a page away from old ones. Yes, I’m moving to Louisville. Yes, I’ll have a new call. But leaving Lord of Life? “No,” I’d like to think, but I am.
Sitting on a zoom call with seminary folks, discussing how to end the internship, a brief moment made ending internship feel too rough. Someone told us, interns, “Don’t sugarcoat. Don’t say I’ll see you all again. For most of these people, you won’t.” I think that’s why I have a hard time believing that the internship is ending. I’m too invested in the office group chat. I like my routine of Mondays being either men’s Bible study or “Let’s Talk About Race” discussion group. I’ve enjoyed teaching and goofing off with confirmation teens way too much to not be around for the rest of their adolescence, to see them become amazing adults and celebrate their accomplishments. Not indoctrinating Lord of Life young adults on Appalachia Service Project (ASP) this summer with Kentucky Pride sounds too terrible to be true. And I love telling y’all rad stories about my awesome grandparents in my sermons.
But that’s where I’m at. I attended my last “Let’s Talk About Race” discussion. I attended my last men’s Bible study. I will not be on ASP this summer. Staff will create a new group chat without me (but the current one will still exist for meme trading purposes). Confirmands that I’ve taught will be confirmed in my absence.
It’s no wonder a little bit of me is in denial. I like y’all too much. Though I’m excited to walk through open doors, it is with sadness that I’m closing doors behind me. So yes, while I know my internship is coming to an end, and my last Sunday is in three days (Holy cow, three days!) it still feels a bit unbelievable. But Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 reminds me to embrace this moment of transition, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” In my departure, God is fusing together weeping, laughing, mourning, and dancing.
This fusion of emotions is testimony to the amazing people of Lord of Life. This church really is a place of vibrancy with the Holy Spirit moving in and through this congregation. So many hands go into making ministry possible, from fellowship events to mission trips, from worship to learning, from care ministry to advocacy.
Thank you, Lord of Life, for your ministry and all you have given me these past two years,
Pastor Alec Brohnson, Seminary Intern