Dear Christ Community Family and Friends,
For nearly six years now, it’s been a joy to serve with you in the name of our Lord. I celebrate the many ways in which Christ Community reaches the lost, feeds the hungry, and makes disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
In the United Methodist Church, clergy are deployed using the model found in Acts 13, where after a period of worshipping and praying, the Church at Antioch “laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off” to where they were needed. This is called “itinerant ministry.” Through our covenant of servant leadership every United Methodist pastor acknowledges his or her availability to be sent out as an itinerant minister to serve and glorify God.
In a recent conversation with the Raleigh District Superintendent, Jon Strother, I learned that I will be sent to a new congregation this summer. This call to a new field of ministry is one which included an intentional season of discernment on the part of the Bishop and cabinet. Therefore, at annual conference this year, a new senior pastor will be appointed to CCUMC, and I will be reappointed within the NC Annual Conference to another congregation in need of my gifts.
While there are many chapters yet to be written in the life of our church, my time as pastor of Christ Community will soon be coming to a close. My last Sunday in the pulpit will be June 13. The final transition to new pastoral leadership will not take place until June 22, which is moving day for all clergy being reassigned in the conference.
Until then, I will continue to serve among you with hope and joy. Pray with me for God’s will to continue to be discerned and realized for Christ Community and for my family.
In Christ,
Vann
