Pastor Marsha Farewell

Dear friends in Christ,

As you all know too well, two years go by quickly! I can hardly believe I am saying farewell to all of my dear friends and colleagues here at Trinity. As I think back on our time together, I think of so many ministries and so many good times we had together. I think of traveling to Haiti, building a Habitat house, selling fair trade coffee, hunger banquets, small groups, meals together, chatting in the hallways of Trinity, worshiping together, and being united with all of you around the communion table each week. With all of that and more running through my mind and heart, I am full of gratitude. Thank you for welcoming me into this community and for helping me figure out what it means to be a pastor. Thank you for your hospitality to me and for your continued hospitality to first-call pastors. Supporting first-call pastors is an important ministry for which Trinity is uniquely suited, and I hope you will continue to nurture young pastors for many years to come.

As for what is next for me, my last Sunday at Trinity will be June 13, and then I will return to Moorhead for the TiM farewell celebration on Sunday, July 11. And on a happier note, I will be married on June 19 to Brian Ballantine. We are incredibly excited to begin this new chapter of our life together and to finally live in the same city! I will be moving to Berkeley, CA, where Brian is pursuing an MDiv at the Jesuit School of Theology, and I will serve as a hospital chaplain at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley for at least one year. After that, who knows!

Life is truly an adventure, and I am so glad I got to spend part of my adventure with all of you. Thank you for being a blessing to me and to many others. I carry you with me as I go – full of lessons-learned, joy and struggles shared, and full of the love of our Lord Jesus, which brings us together and then inevitably sends us out to live our faith boldly in new and exciting ways. I will miss you, but I know that whether we are in Minnesota or California, we are there with God who unites us in the body of Christ.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Marsha