Dear friends,
I am delighted to have arrived here in beautiful Maumee and St. Paul’s! I’m so thankful for your warm welcome, including all the work that was done to get the rectory ready. It is a beautiful, peaceful, and light filled home. On many evenings, I’ve felt re-charged watching the colorful sunsets from the west-facing windows or the back porch. The great wide-open skies of the Midwest are a distinctive beauty that lifts my soul!
It has especially been a blessing to begin meeting staff and parishioners, and I look forward to meeting all of you. Everyone’s kindness feels as natural and generous as the big skies. Most importantly, your loving kindness speaks of the strong resonance of Christ alive here — and to the expansive possibilities of a bright future for St. Paul’s!
As St. Paul himself told us, we have 3 things to lead us: “faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” And the great Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh echoed that when he said that his monasteries do not seek to teach people about love, but to be love. Being love is the very heartbeat of being alive in Christ. Of all the marvelous things we will do together for St. Paul’s vibrant new chapter, you already exude what is most essential: being the love of Christ.
One last thing on a practical “a-rose-by-any-other-name” level. Since I’ve arrived, the most frequent question I’ve been asked is, “What should we call you?” Thank you for the thoughtful question. My only preference is, I don’t go by “Pat” – that’s my mother. Other than that, I’ve always just felt fine with the various ways parishioners choose to address me; but, if you’d like a more concrete answer, most commonly parishioners have called me Rev. Patricia and that’s fine, and as well if you want to just call me Patricia, that’s fine, too. A friend once suggested the title “the ir-Rev-erent Patricia Rose,” but no, that doesn’t seem right for the letterhead. 🙂
With you in Christ and looking forward to meeting you,
Rev. Patricia Rose