Steve's Announcement Letter

November 12, 2007

Dear Friends,

Whenever I read St. Paul's words of greeting in his letter to the Philippians, I think of them as my own words about the students, alumni, faculty, and staff I have known at Princeton these last seven and a half years:

What a blessing it has been for me to be here and know you. When I was in seminary, I imagined that I would spend my whole ministry in a country parish somewhere and never imagined that God would bring me to Princeton. How blessed and grateful I am!

Yet the country still beckons. Over the last few years Andrea, Aidan, and I have felt the country pulling us more and more. We have a home in Hancock, Massachusetts, where we spend summers and as much other time as we can. We have begun to become part of a community of friends there. And the old call of parish ministry has become louder and louder in the ear of my mind.

At the same time I have come to feel that it is time for someone with fresh ideas and new energy to continue God's work here with you at ECP. I have always been very clear in my mind that I do not want to remain here until after the time I have lost my ability to be effective. I have felt these last couple of years that things are about as good as I can make them and I have now come to believe that it is time for me to step aside for someone else.

And so this academic year will be my last at Princeton. I will savor the remaining months among you and will continue to do all I can to work with you to announce and celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ while we're still together. I will continue my work to put ECP on a solid financial footing that, if properly managed, will sustain ECP indefinitely into the future for your children and grandchildren.

There is a certain part of me that does not look forward to leaving, as I am very fond of all of you and of this place. But there is another part of me that is eager to try something new and to learn new things in parishes in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. I'd like to go out when things are going great rather than hang on and hang around until I'm past the time when I should leave. And then there are the Berkshire hills, the beautiful Berkshires, calling us home.

I have said from the beginning that this ministry is not mine alone. I have always used plural pronouns in saying what has been accomplished each year since I know that the church is about everybody, not just the one whose day job it is to "mind the store."

I have been equally clear that the Episcopal Church at Princeton must be what I pray it would be everywhere, namely a spiritual home for everyone, no matter what one's views are on the controversial issues facing our church and our world. We don't have to agree on everything and there is much more that unites us than divides us. So the main thing is that we stay together and keep praying together, trusting that the Holy Spirit will be our guide.

It's our church, not my church. And so, when I depart, because of you it will carry on being a strong and vibrant witness to all the good things God has done and continues to do for us and of abundant and joyful life in Christ.

So thank you for the incredible gift of allowing me to be your chaplain. And please continue to support this ministry with your prayers and your contributions and bequests. Campus ministry is one of the most important mission fields the church has and it has too often been neglected. I pray that you will keep this ministry strong and help build it up so that it, in turn, can build up the whole church of God by continuing to prepare leaders for the future and by being an oasis of Christian harmony and love amidst strife.

My heart is very full. Thank you. God bless you and all you do. Please keep in touch.

Faithfully yours,
The Rev. Dr. Stephen L. White
Chaplain