I take this entirely too personally

Our minister resigned. He got an offer to be an interim minister for a congregation near his hometown in Michigan. When that assignment is done – likely by year-end –he's going to hang up his robe and retire. He and his wife are very happy that this new opportunity has come their way. He will stay with us until August. By that time, he will have been with us for three years.

I'm pissed.

He must have been looking for a new role, or at least been receptive to one. When he first joined us in 2023, he said this would be "his last stop." I remember this distinctly because I had been unsettled by the tumult when our minister was let go. So now I feel betrayed and abandoned.

Which is silly. Or at least certainly an overreaction. 

Three years is not an insignificant amount of time. He walked into a fractious situation – many in the congregation didn't think our previous minister had been treated fairly, others heartily disliked our interim minister. All of us seemed to feel battered and he calmed us. He's also guided us through the ICE invasion. It felt like a gut punch the first time I saw that sign on the door, demanding agents present warrants before invading our house of worship. But he has helped us see that we are not helpless, and that we can act in faith and solidarity and make a difference.

I should be grateful. In time, I'm sure I will be. But right now, it feels like he's leaving me.