Today at the church I attend we had a farewell luncheon for our pastor who will be ending her tenure as our pastor at the end of the month.  I watched people today looking at their facial expressions.  What I observed is many people felt it was a sad moment because they are going to miss our pastor.  At the luncheon I was able to lighten the mood as I told a funny story about our pastor and the dog I owned when I first started attending the church.  The entire room laughed, and laughter was the right ingredient at the right time to lessen the stress people were feeling.  I am also aware of my own emotions around her departure.  I realized I have conflicting emotions at this time.  June will be a month of sorting out how I feel and adjusting to change.  God’s love will get everyone in our congregation through this time of change, and for that certainty I give God thanks and praise beyond measure.