Letter from Fr. Chuck Collins, Interim Rector

Dear Christ Church family,

Grace to you and peace be yours from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Can we just admit that we are in an odd place these days at Christ Church Anglican? None of us expected Father Chris to be called to North Carolina, Chris the most surprised of all! I feel blessed to have shared ministry with you and him over the past four years, and to be with you in the next season of our life together.

As I have seen over the years, the role of Interim Rector is a peculiar calling. On one hand, my job is clearly to maintain the good momentum we have had for ten years and the predictability that gives Anglicans comfort. But I also feel an obligation to pave the way for the new rector by helping us lean even more intentionally into our missional identity. What does it really mean for Christ Church to really live The Great Commission and The Great Commandment? I look forward to working with our staff and vestry to bring into the light our purpose and unique congregational offering to the city and to the world: cogent statements of mission and core values that can be used on every level of our shared ministry.

I enter into my new role with excitement and with certain commitments. I believe that Jesus is the head of his church (not the rector or vestry), and that the purpose of church leaders is to listen for God and go where God is working. I believe the essence of Christianity is to enjoy God and one another: joy. I hope this coming year will be fun! I believe the primary ministry of the church staff is to enable and support our members in their daily ministries in the real world. This also translates into: all ministry heads should be looking right now for their replacements, and mentoring them. I believe that when we have communicated, we have only done half the communicating that’s needed. I want to help our staff and vestry focus on the objectives, not the obstacles, because we will have every resource, financial and otherwise, supplied by God for what God calls for. And once these things are done, I trust that we will have more time to enjoy God and one another!

I welcome your prayers and ideas in our journey together. Please pray for Shawn Carson and Jack Smelser, our wardens, and our vestry. Please pray for the Search Committee over the coming months. I truly believe that God can do infinitely more than we can ask for or imagine, and for this reason, our future at Christ Church is bright with hope.

All blessings,

Chuck Collins
Interim Rector