Dear Church:
It is with mixed feelings I report that starting in 2025, Rev. Jayne Davis will tier down her weekly hours as she begins transitioning toward retirement.
The good news is we are preparing for a slow and long offramp. She will remain at 30 hours for all of 2025 reducing her work by one workday as well as any committee and executive staff responsibilities. She will remain active on our staff Sunday through Wednesday and will continue leading small groups, spiritual formation classes, retreats, and Sunday School coordination. Her presence will continue to be felt in worship on Sundays as well as at Tuesday Noon Church. The average church member may not even realize she is tiering down her hours, and that is just fine with me.
To signify this change, Jayne will transition out of her Associate Pastor for Discipleship role and take the new title of Minister of Spiritual Formation. She will dedicate her time and efforts to creating sacred spaces and holy conversations for individuals and groups at First Baptist.
We are both excited for her as well as clear-minded about what this transition eventually means. Jayne will not work on our staff forever. This realization brings with it a holy pause because we all know that Jayne Davis is tethered at a soul level with the deepest, most spiritual connections humanity has with God. She has embodied the best of what a disciple looks like and has loved us well for twenty-five years while inviting us into more and more sacred spaces.
She also brings wisdom to our staff culture that is not easily replicable. She has been, and still is, the calm amid the storm and the sage that helps guide action and thought. We are immensely grateful to her leadership and are a better church community because of her faithful presence among us.
She does want you to know that she is not retiring anytime soon nor is there any need for swansongs. We are not farewell-ing her or memorializing anything yet. We will when the time is right, but, for now, she is simply reducing her hours and responsibilities as she enters a liminal season of life and ministry.
Peace & Joy,
Rev. Barrett Owen
Senior Pastor
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