Farewell Blessing from Pastor Jess

Dear Friends of College Street Congregational Church,

It has now been four months since I announced that our time together is drawing to a close and I find myself more than a little emotional. As my time as your interim pastor concludes, I find myself holding many emotions at once: gratitude, tenderness, joy, a little sadness, and—most of all—hope. It has been a privilege to walk alongside you in this season of the church’s life. Interim ministry is a particular kind of ministry. It asks us to honor what has been, to pay attention to what is happening now, and to make room for what is yet to come. Together, we have done some beautiful things.

There have been moments of real accomplishment and celebration. We have strengthened relationships, worshiped together, navigated change, asked important questions, and discovered new possibilities for ministry. We have laughed and prayed, grieved and celebrated. We have witnessed the generosity and resilience that have long been part of College Street’s character. And, as in any community that is doing the honest work of being church together, there have also been times when we missed the mark. There were moments when we could have listened more deeply, communicated more clearly, extended more grace, or recognized sooner what someone else was carrying. I know there were times when I, too, fell short. I hope we can hold those moments not as failures to be hidden away, but as opportunities from which we learned. My hope is that we have become a little more courageous, compassionate, curious, and forgiving because of them. Church is not a place where we have to get everything right. It is a place where we practice becoming more fully who God is calling us to be—and where, when we stumble, we have the chance to help one another back up.

As I leave this particular role, I do not feel that ministry is ending. Rather, it is changing shape. I am looking forward to continuing to serve in ways that feel both deeply grounded and expansive: as a death doula, psychedelic guide for trauma, spiritual companion, and celebrant. I will continue my studies in Ayurvedic medicine, following my curiosity about the ways ancient wisdom, embodied practice, spirituality, and healing can inform one another. I trust that there are big things still to come—not only for me, but for the ways in which I am called to accompany people through the thresholds, transitions, losses, celebrations, and transformations of their lives.

And I believe there are big things to come for College Street, too. Every church has a story, but no church has a predetermined ending. The future is something we make together, through faithfulness, imagination, courage, and a willingness to listen for where the Spirit is moving. I leave with genuine optimism about what is possible for this congregation. There is so much wisdom here. So much love. So much history. And there is still so much life ahead.

I am especially glad to know that the next chapter of your interim journey will be accompanied by the Rev. Dr. James Ross as your bridge pastor. I offer him my wholehearted blessing and my confidence. James brings gifts, wisdom, experience, and a pastoral presence that I trust will serve this community well. I hope you will welcome him with the same generosity, honesty, humor, and grace that have made my time with you so meaningful. Thank you, College Street, for trusting me with this season.

Thank you for the prayers, the questions, the conversations, the meals, the laughter, the difficult moments, the celebrations, and the countless small acts of kindness that make ministry possible. Thank you for letting me be your pastor—and for allowing me, in the process, to become part of your story.

May you continue to be a church that chooses love over fear, curiosity over certainty, relationship over division, and hope over resignation. May you keep making room at the table, keep telling the truth, keep learning, keep growing, and keep surprising yourselves with what is possible. And may the Holy One who has carried you this far continue to guide you into the future—with courage for the road ahead, tenderness for one another, and joy for the journey.

With deep gratitude, affection, and hope,

Rev. Jessica Derise

College Street Congregational Church

Interim Pastor