Well, this is it, folks. It is time to pass the baton, and finally cede the computer and the cozy office chair to Noelle for good. We covered the budget this morning, so I guess I’ve imparted everything I know—I can walk out of the classroom now and forget it all.

But first, I have to blog. If you’re currently on the NNPCW listserv (click here to get on it), you’ve probably already read the sappy e-mail messages I sent out to NNPCW members and alumnae saying goodbye. Indeed, I’m good at doing the sappy thing. I still worry, though, that it sounds overly grandiose as I resort to platitudes to express deep emotion.

I will try to keep the following from getting too sappy or too grandiose. I do want to tell you, though, just a little bit about how much this work has changed my life.

When I started working for the Network, I was fresh out of college and basically looking for a job that had to do with women. I had gotten really into feminist critical theory in college lit classes, but I suspected that I really didn’t want to pursue that as a career. So I started thinking about doing something related to women, just for a few years until I got my act together to pursue grad work in English or history.

I’ve told many of you the story of how unlikely it was for me to come to NNPCW—I was not on CoCo, not a member of the Network, not even a Presbyterian. I can remember, the day before flying to Louisville for my face-to-face interview, sitting in the dorm room I shared with Amy Robinson as she explained to me what a stated clerk was, even what a presbytery was. I had no clue.

But the first time I talked with Gusti Newquist, Lindsey Childs, and Anna Hrachovec on the phone, I felt drawn. Their interview was actually fun. Yet I was surprised when they asked me to come to Louisville, and nervous when I found out that all the other applicants had much more experience than I did with NNPCW and women’s theologies. Still, I came, not even thinking I had a shot at getting an internship with this office.

Then, the morning after the interview when I had returned to my little dorm room at Whitworth, I got the phone call offering me a job with NNPCW. And I can look back on that moment today and say that I didn’t have a clue how powerfully the Spirit was about to move in my life. The decision I made, to leave my friends and family in Washington and follow God’s call here, has made all the difference in the person I am now.

Working with the students of NNPCW and the staff here in the office has challenged me to expand my understanding of God’s grace and love, to overcome my fears of the unknown and unanswered, and to act for those around me who are in need. I have been inspired by so many of you, who dare to live authentically and with integrity in a world where we’re encouraged to hide our true selves. You’ve prompted me to critically examine my own prejudices and assumptions by your witness. You’ve taught me to stop measuring success by a letter grade, or signups on a sheet, or applause at a presentation. You’ve showed me what loving your neighbor really means.

And for this, even platitudes cannot express the depth of my thanks.

Now, in parting, a blessing: may the great I AM, Mother and Father to us all, bless your witness as you proclaim God’s coming realm of justice and love. And may the love of Christ shine upon you until we meet again.

“As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” --2 Timothy 4:6-7

Kelsey