An Important Update from Pastor Chris
Dear Trinity Family,
I have some bittersweet news to share with you. Earlier this evening I informed our Session that I have accepted the call to serve as the next Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Missouri. My last worship service at Trinity will be Sunday, June 30, 2024, and I will continue to serve in the background during the month of July. Over the coming weeks I will be working closely with our leadership and staff to make sure this time of transition goes as smoothly as possible.
It is hard to overstate how proud I am of the work we have accomplished over these past seven years of ministry together. Trinity has grown in our stability, engagement, and impact. Over the past seven years we have moved from a year-to-year contract to a longer-term, strategic relationship with our friends at Brentwood, giving Trinity the stability we need to invest in our congregation and our future. We have established two long-term investment accounts providing stable, on-going income to support our mission priorities and future facility improvements. We have increased our average, weekly worship engagement by over 50% since 2017 and have developed an ever-improving hybrid worship service that allow members of our community to engage in worship even when they cannot physically attend services. We have grown our impact in mission, both locally and around the world, investing in building homes for the unsheltered, feeding the hungry, welcoming the refugee, and caring for our neighbors in myriad other ways. We have done good work together.
Yet, every season of ministry comes to an end. Over the past months I have felt a growing leading from God that my calling to serve Trinity was nearing its conclusion, and that I needed to begin the work of discerning what my next calling might look like. As part of that discernment, I entered into conversations with Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, a PC(USA) congregation in the northern part of the Kansas City metro area. Like Trinity, Pine Ridge is a congregation committed to mission, social justice work, and developing a community strengthened by deep, intergenerational relationships. Like Trinity, Pine Ridge shares space with another worshiping community: the Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church, with whom they hold joint children's and youth Sunday School classes and intergenerational fellowship events. I have been familiar with the community at Pine Ridge since my days working as a camp counselor and they have a long tradition of excellence in ministry.
During my conversations with the Pastor Nominating Committee of Pine Ridge it became clear that God had been preparing the way for this new chapter in my ministry for some time, but that doesn't change the fact that this decision is bittersweet. Mary Erin and I are looking forward to moving much closer to our parents, allowing our kids more time with their grandparents. It will also put us less than 30 minutes from Children's Mercy Hospital in downtown Kansas City where the majority of Elizabeth's specialty care takes place. At the same time, we will deeply miss the loving church family here at Trinity. We have grown quite fond of Springfield and will miss this community. The lessons I have learned by your side have made me a better pastor, father, and husband. Thank you.
I know you may have more questions about this upcoming time of transition at Trinity. Please know that I will be working closely with our leadership and staff to make sure this time of transition goes as smoothly as possible, and that we will be communicating plans as they develop. Please also know that I am happy to meet with you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. You may contact me by phone, text, or email at your convenience.
Wishing you God's Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chris Miller
