Dear Good Samaritans,

With a heavy heart, I share with you today that over the past several months, I have discerned that the role of Vicar at Good Samaritan is not a good fit for what God is calling me to do and be.

I want you to know first and foremost that I love this congregation. I meant every word of my annual address: You are a miracle! If a friend were looking for a church in this area, whether to worship at or to work at, I would not hesitate for a second before recommending Good Samaritan, nor would I have any trouble choosing it for myself as a worshiping member.

But the more I have come to know and love Good Sam’s, and the work to which you are called right now, the more clearly I have realized that my own gifts and passions for ministry and the gifts Good Sam’s needs in its Vicar right now are not as closely aligned as we had thought or hoped when this began. It makes me deeply sad to come to this conclusion. I believe so much in this community and the mission to which Christ has called you in and around Brownsburg, and I have loved being with you yourselves. But trying to force a match would only impede this amazing ministry. I can’t do that to either of us. So the time has come for me to step away from my role as your Vicar so that someone else with a different set of gifts and passions can step in. I believe firmly that God is even now preparing that person for you.

I anticipate that you may have many questions right now, as well as many feelings about this situation. I hope you will join us tomorrow morning for worship and for a community meeting afterward, where we will have the opportunity to begin working through all of those things together. If you are able to join us in person, I encourage you to do so. If you are not able to do so, please know that we will continue the livestream for the meeting, so you will still be able to watch and hear all that is said during that time.

With love, gratitude, and sorrow,

Beth

(beth@churchthatserves.org, 317.939.1101)

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Dear Good Samaritans,

As your Wardens, we want to express our gratitude to Mother Beth for her deep reflection and consideration of the needs of Good Samaritan Episcopal Church which has led her to a difficult decision to step away as our Vicar. Like you, we are sad to learn that her time as our Vicar will be ending in the near future.

Based on initial discussions with Bishop Jennifer and Beth, while we don’t yet know Beth’s exact last day as our Vicar, we do know she will lead us at least through Easter.

The combination of our Good Sam’s resilience, our still-recent transition experience, and the support of the Diocese gives us Wardens and the Bishop’s Committee confidence and faith that God will provide another qualified successor to meet the needs of Good Sam’s.

Tomorrow, join us after Sunday Worship for a Community Meeting so we can begin processing this news together as a Congregation. Along with Beth, we will share further remarks and answer your questions. Additionally, as the first act of our Bishop’s and Indy Dio’s support, we will be joined by Jennifer (Jen) Phelps – the Dio’s Transition Minister.

We thank each of you for your dedication and service to Good Samaritan’s mission to follow Jesus’ teaching: to love, serve, and include all people – without exception.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Beth or either of us with any concerns or needs.

With Faith,

David Huang, Senior Warden (davidhuang33@gmail.com)
Anne Davis, Junior Warden (msannemdavis@gmail.com)