Gratitude

After 12 weeks I am back from maternity leave, and I have so much for which to be grateful. For the long haul, I will be thanking God for this first Church into which we bring our daughter Hannah, but in the short term, I have a few individual notes of gratitude that I would like to share.

I am grateful to serve as clergy in a tradition that honors the life of the Priest as a whole person. Though hard-won over the years, it is now expected that Episcopal Clergywomen will have paid parental leave in the Episcopal Church. This is not necessarily the case for adoptive parents, or for the partner of a birthing parent, or for lay employees. This needs work, and quickly (a motion sponsored by Fr Robert and Mtr Kelli Joyce will go for a vote this year at the Annual Convention to make this normative in our Diocese). I am grateful that as a part of my benefits as a clergy person, it is expected that I will have adequate leave.

As with everything, what is on paper as an expectation is not always followed or followed with generosity, but I am happy to share that in this case the Staff, Clergy and Vestry of Saint Philip’s have been overwhelmingly supportive of my time away to care for Hannah, for the limitations pregnancy put on my participation in the midst of the Pandemic, and for grace in my re-entry as a colleague balancing new responsibilities and joys. To serve among colleagues who greet this season with grace, curiosity, and openness to change is a sign of the Spirit of Christ in their work. There is something beyond patience that is required when someone in our life has a life-changing event in a work environment—flexibility, sure, extra support, sure, but what really makes the difference is colleagues’ groundedness in Christ that enables change to be fruitful rather than an affront to what was.

I count myself exceedingly lucky to serve as a Priest in a tradition that takes the whole person seriously, but that wouldn’t mean much if my closest colleagues did not. Thank you, Robert, and Vestry, for offering as a norm the leave that I needed. Thank you, Peter, and Mark, for covering many duties that might have been mine over twelve weeks (and before as needed!) Thank you to Mary for organizing coverage for the Daily Breads during my time away and for many unseen supports to the team ministry we share here. Thank you to Lois and Anthea who made sure that leave and short-term disability was appropriately accounted for, and for continuing to support ministries that require bookkeeping while I was away—Beloved in the Desert, the Kitchen on a Mission project, and others. Thank you to Ayden and Myron for their support of the Kitchen on a Mission project and the building access that was required with which I could not help. Thank you to Justin and Jeffrey for providing the hymn lullaby tracks I needed in these early months and the music I was eager to get back to hearing as a part of my prayers on Sundays. Thank you, Chris, for taking on zoom administration and so many other supports!

Thank you, thank you!

Mtr Taylor