I have neglected to announce some news here on this blog (the death of Carol’s mom tended to make everything else seem far less significant). Probably the best thing to do is to give you the text of the letter I sent out to the congregation here in New Bedford:
2 April 2009
Dear friends,
I am writing this letter to you to inform you that I am resigning as minister of First Unitarian Church in New Bedford effective 31 July 2009. I have accepted an offer to become the Assistant Minister of Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, California.
I have valued serving as the minister of the church here in New Bedford. I have decided to take on this new ministerial challenge because the time seemed right. No less important, living in a larger metropolitan area will provide more employment opportunities for my spouse, Carol.
Serving here in New Bedford has been a rich and satisfying ministry for me. I am glad to have been minister here with you, and I will look forward to hearing of the continued upward progress of this congregation.
Yours truly, [signed]
Congratulations!
Welcome back to the Bay Area!
Lucky Palo Alto!
Congratulations, Dan! And to Carol too!
Good luck in your new position – I’m a New Bedford native but have spent time in the Bay Area and loved it, so from my perspective it looks like you’re moving from one great place to another!
I will miss reading your reflections about life in New Bedford – though my family still lives in the area, I’m only able to visit a couple of times a year and there’s a lot about the place that I miss. Reading your posts about my home area brings back many good memories, for which I’m grateful.
@ 1-4 — Thanks, all, for the congratulations!
Joe @ 5 — I’ll still be writing about New Bedford up through July, so don’t give up yet! This is a lovely city, isn’t it? I only wish the unemployment rate was much, much lower….
Congrats and great luck!
looking forward to having you in our area, but the unemployment rate here is higher than usual too. There’s just a lot more people, so there must be more opportunities….