One of the most amazing, delightful and treasured gifts which God has bestowed upon me, time and time again, surrounds the close relationships I’ve enjoyed with the parishes I’ve served and the members of those faith communities for the past 40 years. In each and every one, God blessed me with the gift of love and respect for every single parishioner, and for the parish as a whole. And while each one needed my time and support for many more hours than I was “contracted” to serve, the mutual love which accompanied each ministry made serving there a joy (well, at least 95% of the time).

In the very short time of 15 months with you, dear people of Trinity Church, God has filled my life with the same, if not greater, blessing. Over the course of these months, including the masking and distancing of pandemic time, I have come to love each and every one of you as sister or brother in Christ. Although I stand as a redeemed sinner like the rest of humanity, you have welcomed me into your hearts and lives in ways that are rich and rewarding beyond any merit of my own, making my time with you always a joy. We have shared periods of hope and fear, joy and extreme sorrow as companions along the journey of faith.

So I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your loving embrace of this aging priest. Being with you, and now living among you in your beautiful rectory, has brought a renewed sense of hope and expectation that I believed I would never experience again once I moved to Ulster County. But as always, God had something in mind which would fill all our lives with love, joy, hope and purpose for the increase of the Reign of God here in Saugerties and beyond.

With much love and expectation for a bright future for us all,

Charles+