News from the Executive Presbyter/Stated ClerkSeptember 2023 has arrived, and by the end of the month, I will step into retirement. My plans are that my last day in the office will be Wednesday, September 20. Olivia and Hoover Haney, colleagues from southern Shenandoah Presbytery, will begin service as interim Co-Executive Presbyters on October 1. Look for more information about this at the September 12 stated meeting.
Many people have been asking me what I plan to do in retirement. My response is that I honestly don’t know. I have been so focused on everything that needs to happen in the upcoming transition that I haven’t given much thought to what I will be doing come October and beyond. One thing I will not miss is the commute from Clermont to downtown Orlando and back, which seems to get lengthened by traffic issues three to five times a month. But Clermont is closer to Sharon’s school, which one reason why we moved there. (Another is that I won’t be right next door to whoever follows me in serving the presbytery.) My usual response to the “what will you do” question is, “Not much of anything, at least for the first three to six months.” (OK, I have a list of things that I plan to attend to around the house. Hello, garage. And, at least one closet needs to be rebuilt with new rods and shelves. And there are a bunch of novels I want to read.) In my 42 years of pastoral ministry, I only took three weeks off in a row four or five times, and two of them were when our sons were born. I never took a longer vacation, and none of the three pastoral positions I held included a sabbatical leave. I could have taken a sabbatical here at CFP, but by the time I qualified for one, the pandemic began and put the kibosh to that idea. So, my initial plan is to do very little beyond those “honey-do” items. I have been spending some time reflecting on my 42 years of ministry (45, if you count seminary), including the 11 years I have spent with this presbytery. I will have something to say about our time together when I preach at the September 12 stated meeting, but here are a few random recollections that have come to mind:
It is hard to believe sometimes that 42 years has gone by, and that I am now at a time of transition to a different form of ministry. It has been an honor and a privilege to have shared the past eleven years with the pastors and congregations of Central Florida Presbytery. Peace and God’s blessings always, Dan Williams Executive Presbyter / Stated Clerk |
SEPTEMBER 2023
Rev. Dr. Dan Williams
|