August 30, 2023
After 7 years, I have felt the urge to return to this early , first attempt at blogging. Much has happened on this journey of life over the past years. With very mixed feelings I discerned that in the parish I was serving in the Sierra Nevada foothills I had become a focus of controversy and antagonism that was unhealthy for the congregation and for me. I retired from the active roster of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), moved to Concord in the East Bay area of san Francisco and embarked on a year long residence in Clinical Pastoral Education at John Muir Medical Center. After completing the 1 year residency, I began serving as a “Spiritual Care Counselor” for Hospice East Bay, based in Pleasant Hill, CA. I felt so at home working beside nurses and social workers, and honored to walk with people facing the final days of their lives. 5 months into this new venture, the Covid epidemic intervened, making personal contact a very limited option. Unable to actually spend time with people made my job feel superfluous, so I decided that it was time to retire. The economics of California meant that we could not afford to live out our retirement there, so we returned to Pennsylvania and purchased a house.
“Retirement” didn’t last long, as the bishop in our PA region, faced with declining numbers of clergy, asked me to serve as an interim pastor for a congregation whose pastor had recently retired. So I found myself back in parish ministry, half-time, and loving it! The commute, however, was challenging so that ended after 14 months.
The Holy Spirit intervened-as has so often happened!- and the pastor at our home congregation, newly called to take on the role of Lead Pastor after serving as the Associate, asked if I would be willing to take on a half-time contract to work with her as the Associate Pastor. And so, 8 months ago I found myself once again serving in a congregation. There has been this nagging urge to return to writing, not so much because I feel as though I have great wisdom to share, but because I hope that my own struggles and “AHA!” moments might resonate with someone else, and perhaps lead to the kind of conversations that are soul-quenching.
So here I am-the retuning “prodigal blogger”- hoping to connect with those of you who find your way to my blog spot. I don’t know if the new platform will allow comments on my page. If not, feel free to correspond with me at: bellhog@gmail.com. Please put “Blog” in the subject line to help me keep track of the correspondence that connects to here. I am planning to do a “Monday Musings” on a weekly basis. We’ll see how that plays out!
In the meantime-may you notice the sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant ways that God reaches out to let you know that you are a precious, beloved child.
Blessings always! Eileen
Dust of the Rabbi 