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From the desk of 
The Reverend
Michael S. White
        912-236-2500

March 11, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Christ Church,

With a heart full of gratitude and love, I am announcing that this summer I will retire as the Rector of Christ Church. My final service will be on Sunday, June 16th. This year I enter my thirtieth year of ordained ministry; sixteen of those years have been with Christ Church. I have spent the majority of my time as a priest with you, and this experience with you will always be the joy and highlight of my ordained life.

Because of the fruitful ministry that we have shared together, a number of search committees from larger congregations and bishop searches have contacted me over the years. Each time I’ve been faced with discerning these possibilities, it has taken only a passing consideration to realize that I wanted Christ Church to be the ministry from which I would officially retire. Christ Church, the Diocese of Georgia, and Savannah have truly become home.

Helen and I were called to Savannah when our sons, Ethan and Jay, were in first and third grade. Even though Helen spent her first six years here serving other congregations, she has been involved in the community and mission of Christ Church since we arrived. For the past ten years, Helen has been an important part of our staff, and her work has been an essential element in the growth of Christ Church. Helen will also be transitioning off the staff, and in this Thursday's weekly email she will share her own reflections.

Once I knew that Christ Church was the community from which I would retire from full-time rector work, I began to seek the moment that would be minimally disruptive to its mission, would ensure the highest chance of a successful transition, and would also align with my own spiritual, emotional, and physical health. I’ve spent time in prayer and have sought guidance and clarity through conversations with my family, Bishop Logue, and other trusted colleagues and advisors.

It was this month sixteen years ago when Helen and I first met with a small group of lay leaders committed to rebuilding Christ Church. I told Helen that day, "If I can match the commitment to Christ Church that these lay leaders already have, God can do amazing things.” Since that moment, we have celebrated over one hundred baptisms and presented over two hundred people for confirmation and reception. We currently have sixty-five acolytes. Sixty children and youth participated in our most recent Christmas Pageant. Our membership has grown from that group of just twenty-eight committed lay leaders to now over 700 members. We have received over one million dollars in pledges for our annual ministry budget. We have strengthened our support for and connection with important outreach ministries, such as Emmaus House. The public phase of our Tricentennial Organ Campaign just began on February 11th, and we have already raised over two million of our three million dollar goal. I am confident that this goal will be met.

The music, worship, preaching, outreach ministries, pastoral care teams, and Christian formation offerings all exceed anything I could have imagined sixteen years ago. We have an amazing full-time staff, with the Rev. Samantha McKean (Sr. Associate), George Fergus (Director of Music), and Suzanne Phillips Smith (Parish Administrator). They are joined by additional part-time staff and incredible volunteers. Our wardens, Stephen Rilee and Wash Dender, and our vestry officers, vestry members, and current ministry leaders are outstanding people who are well-qualified for the task of this transition. Christ Church is so strong and healthy that I know in my heart that I can retire knowing that it is well with my soul and it is well with the soul of Christ Church.

This Wednesday, Bishop Logue will meet with our vestry for conversations about this transition. Our staff, clergy, and lay leadership will continue in place, and a seasoned priest will be called to lead Christ Church as interim rector throughout the search for a permanent new rector. I trust that this rector will bring new life and energy to lead Christ Church into the next chapter of God's calling. Our 300th anniversary is less than nine years away, and I do believe that our best days are yet to come.

My plan is to take a true break over the next year. Helen and I look forward to some extended travel, and then I plan to reflect and write about the inspiring journey that we at Christ Church have shared and all that we have learned together. I truly feel called to take this experience and share it with other congregations, many of whom are in great need of hope, as a consultant, guest preacher, retreat leader, and short-term interim priest.

While it is necessary that Helen and I are away from Christ Church for at least a few years, Savannah will continue to be our primary home and the Diocese of Georgia our clergy community. At some point after a new rector is fully settled, our hope is to one day return to Christ Church as part of the worshiping congregation and attend church with longtime, beloved friends.

There will be more information about this transition in the days ahead, some from me and some from the wardens. I look forward to being with you over the next few months through June 16th. The opportunity to live and serve among you will forever be one of the highlights of my life. We have walked together through all kinds of seasons, mourned together in over 100 burial services, and shared many times of great joy. I know that Christ Church will continue to be rooted in our core values: Centered in Worship, All Are Welcome, Joyful Living, and Servant Leadership. Thank you for allowing me and my family to share in your lives. This has been an amazing journey, and I am truly blessed to live and serve among you.

Thank you!

Michael

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21







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