Summer Is Flying By

Summer, as the cliché goes, is flying by. This Sunday, July 20th, I will preach the last of my sermon series “Lee’s Favorite Stories from Each of the Four Gospels”. I will be away on Sunday, July 27th. The Rev. Keith Tanis, who has been filling in for me during the past few years, will preach that day.

Beginning on Sunday, August 3rd, I will preach a series of six sermons — my last six as pastor at MBPPC — based on the Scriptures that have stuck with me the most over the years. I think there will be some great surprises. I hope there will be a powerful engagement with the Word. This will conclude on my last Sunday in the pulpit, September 7th.

At this point, I can tell you that the Seattle Presbytery’s Commission on Ministry (COM) has supplied the names of two interim pastor candidates, and that the MBPPC Session has interviewed both of them. The selection process comprises:

• MBPPC Session making a choice, voting to extend a call to the interim candidate, and communicating that choice to the COM.

• The COM then authorizes the call if all is in order (as it certainly will be, since the COM provided the candidate’s name already).

If all goes smoothly, the candidate should be selected by the end of summer (perhaps sooner). Then it is a question of when that person can begin. My employment ends on Tuesday, September 30th. If there is a gap, especially on Sundays, the COM will provide a guest preacher until the interim can begin.