One of my close friends from seminary, Fr. Peter Langenkamp, would routinely take umbrage at the pejorative usage of his name,  specifically the phrase “to peter out.”   I suspect he would also  object to what is commonly called “the peter principle,” which is a work hierarchy theory that states that people rise to the level of their own incompetence in organizations. In short,  employees are promoted for being good at their job without consideration of whether their skills translate to the next rung up the ladder. If that employee does happen to succeed in a new role, the process starts over again, until eventually they find themselves doing a job to which they’re not particularly suited.  

It's not universally true, but it’s something that I’ve considered often in the past few months of the Beacons of Light initiative. There’s a voice somewhere in my mind that tells me that I was a good vicar, but perhaps not suited to be a pastor at this junction. Then, the voice piles on, maybe  I was figuring out how to be a pastor of three  parishes and one staff, but I’m certainly not equipped to be a pastor of four parishes with two staffs and a mandate to start operating as one.      It is very clearly not a healthy mentality, and it doesn’t serve any positive purpose. In these  moments,  it’s not more planning or running through checklists that restores belief in myself and in my parishes, but only a blind trust in  God’s providence that motivates me.
 
We are very much in the middle of a time of   transition, and there is uncertainty, pain, and confusion to be found in almost any transition. If we are counting on our own skills and gifts alone to bring us through this, we are leaning into a recipe for despair.  But if we offer what we have in a spirit of generosity, how can we doubt that God still has control of all of this and will transform our efforts into something bigger and more beautiful than we can imagine?  I will tell you all with complete honesty that there are days when I’m overwhelmed and fearful. But I am consoled, not by believing that   I have what it takes, but that God will get us where we’re going, one day at a time.  
 
We are beginning work with our Beacons Pathway team to have good conversations and start looking towards the future, and I’m grateful for how generous, honest, and helpful the people of God have been through all of this.      My encouragement to everyone in the family of  parishes for this week is to examine a time in your life when you’ve found yourself in a situation that seems like it’s just too much. Maybe it’s adding on an extra kid that you weren’t necessarily planning for or a situation   at work where you were overworked and more than a little lost. Whatever it was, reflect on the manner in which God brought you through that, especially in unexpected ways. Prayerfully reflecting on how God has been faithful to us in the past is immensely helpful for commending our present and future to Him in a spirit of trust.  
 
As we continue doing everything we do for the salvation of souls, I could offer you a promise to work as hard as possible and exhaust myself, even unto the point of neglecting the interior life. But more important than OUR hard work in this situation is the work that Our Lord continues to pour into His Church. We will strive to be faithful to Him in prayer, offer what we have, and watch as the Lord changes our hearts and leads us to bear fruit, fruit that will last.  
 
Prayers always, 
Fr. McC