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On February 1, I will be officially “semi-retired.” What does a Queen do when she semi-retires? She continues to do all the same things she was doing, but she has to get it done in half the time…and, she gets paid half as much as she did as a full-time Queen.

For those of you who have asked exactly what I will be doing, here is what I know right now:

I will continue to be at Saint Mark UMC every Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, for about 5 hours each day. I will also be available an additional 5 hours during the week for meetings, e-mailings, conversations, whatever.

I will still oversee the children’s Sunday School ministry and provide support and resources for the teachers and other Sunday morning volunteers.

I will continue to be a part of the worship services’ Children’s Time rotation schedule and continue to schedule and assist children who are assigned as “communion helpers” on the first Sunday of each month.

I will attend Children’s Council meetings, maintain tasks related to the Children’s Council budget (expenditures, accounting & tracking), and I will remain the staff person in charge of the Safe Sanctuaries program (making certain everyone who has any contact with our children and youth has had a background screening, and keeping staff and other volunteers informed about policies and restrictions of the Safe Sanctuaries program).

I will attend Administrative Council meetings and staff meetings, as well as meetings of any group that may plan for events that include children.

I will continue to make home visits and hospital visits when needed.

I will work closely with the Vacation Bible School planning team throughout the spring and will manage all the registration data, communications with parents, expenditures and reimbursements, etc. I will be on site every day of Vacation Bible School, June 6 – 10.

Soooo, what will I NOT be doing?

I will not be participating in any activities or causes or events or programs or whatever that are not directly related to Saint Mark’s Children’s Ministry (though I may choose to do so as a volunteer, and not as a representative of Saint Mark’s staff or congregants).

I will not be checking office email 15 times a day!

I will probably not be doing much clean-up in my office (oh, wait….I wasn’t doing THAT anyway!)

As of June 15, I will no longer be on the staff of Saint Mark United Methodist Church and there will be a new Queen or King in the throne room! (but you can still bow and curtsy when you see me).

And one more thing:

in September, with 5 other women “of a certain age” (including our own Pam Buzbee), I will embark on a spiritual pilgrimage, attempting to walk at least 200 of the 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. I will be praying for each one of you through the two weeks we are on this journey and will request your prayers for our group. I will be offering prayers of gratitude for the four years I have been a part of this wonderful family, for the love and energy specific ones of you have given to the work of Jesus in this place, and for the friendships forged here that will continue throughout years to come.

Most of all, I will continue to be thankful for those of you who have entrusted me with the privilege of being your children’s minister. It is a sacred trust and I am honored you have been willing to share it with me. I am thankful for you and thankful to the God who, through Jesus, makes us one family.