Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!
As most of you know by now, I have reached the mandatory retirement age and was officially voted retirement status at the recent Susquehanna Annual Conference Session and will be leaving as your pastor effective June 30,2025. I’m not sure where the years have gone. It seems as a young pastor I remember thinking about those “old ministers” and thinking I will never be that old! Well, here I am! Your new pastor, Rev. Jason Swartzman will be beginning his ministry among you on July 1, 2025. Pastor Jason will be a wonderful spiritual leader to help guide Elm Park into the future. He is extremely excited to come among you! Please welcome him warmly as he begins his ministry. He will inherit a vision that you have already lived into, as well as offering new insights for the journey ahead in this changing world. In addition to Pastor Jason, Pastor Faith Gatwiri will also join the ministry staff as a full time Associate Pastor. And of course, Pastor Andy will remain in his role as well.
I hope you know that after nine years walking the journey with you l love you all. You have been family for Bonnie, Wesley and I and we are all very grateful. While I have tried to preach God’s word in order to increase your faith, I have grown in my own.
I have loved worshipping with you, counseling with you and breaking bread together. I have baptized your children, confirmed your young people, married couples young and old, and I have had the honor of conducting funeral services for your loved ones as they completed their journeys among the saints of God. I will deeply miss our times of sharing and laughing as well as crying together. Most of all, I will forever be grateful to God for sending me here as your pastor.
I will long celebrate the many accomplishments you have made together in mission and ministry moving outside the building to help bring Christ to those outside the church!
It is fitting, I think, that I end my ministry here at Elm Park since I began my ordained ministry at the same altar rail I now stand behind as I pass on the mantle of leadership. Ordained in 1984, I began my ministry in 1975, the same year Bonnie and I were married, as a student pastor. We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary this year as well as 50 years of ministry in the church.
As United Methodist pastors, we are by nature itinerant. That means we are appointed by the bishop to serve one year at a time. Sometimes that moving from church to is hard for both the pastors and the churches. Central to that, pastors are held by a covenant to God and to our colleagues to follow some basic rules. The big one is to leave the church you are currently serving giving space for the incoming pastor and family. That means former pastors cannot return for funerals or weddings or other such pastoral care situations. The only exception being that the new pastor may decide to ask the former to come back for certain celebrations or to assist in a funeral, but only by invitation. That is totally his or her choice. This sounds harsh, but you need to remember you will have a new pastor to care for you who is looking forward to serving you.
By the time you read this, most likely the big old ugly moving van will have moved us to our retirement home in Nicholson, Pa. (The moving date is set for June 9.) However, I remain your pastor until my final worship service on June 29th. On that Sunday we will have a combined worship service at 10:00 am. I would love to see you all there as we celebrate these past years together.
Let me end this last Pastor’s Message in the Journey with the words I close the services with each Sunday:
Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is good.
Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the fainthearted.
Support the weak.
Help the afflicted. Honor all people.
Love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Grace & Peace
Rev. Mike Bealla