In a pastoral letter to the congregation last month Dr. Dan shared his plans for retirement in April.
Dear Member,
I’ll turn 65 in April, and feel the time is right to announce my retirement April 28, 2023. My last Sunday
in the pulpit will be April 23. Between now and the completion of my ministry as your Senior Minister, I’ll
continue to work with the leaders of the congregation to plan an excellent season of Lent and Easter,
while also attending to the ongoing work of pastoral care.

Though I’ve given considerable thought to this decision, it is nevertheless one made with deep emotion.
You have been my church home for nearly 22 years. In all those years, you have walked with my family
and me through the valley of grief and have stood with us to celebrate other milestone moments. You
have loved us unconditionally. You have given me the joy of preaching to you in all the seasons of the
Church’s year. Long after my final sermon, you will continue to hold a special place in my family’s heart.

It’s been 39 years since my ordination as a newly minted 26-year-old seminary graduate at my student
church in Pilot Point, Texas. Members of my childhood church in Lindsay, Oklahoma, were in
attendance that day, as my father presided over the vows of ordination. Then, as now, the occasion
serves to remind me that the Church has been my home through every occasion of life. I often look at
the ordination certificate hanging on my office wall, read the names, remember the day, and pray that
I’ve been faithful to the trust that was given to me that day. By God’s grace, I believe I have been.

Now it’s right to step aside while a new generation of ministerial leadership is called to serve you. I do
so with hope and faith, believing that Christ will hold you in the palm of His hands, gently guiding you as
you plan for, anticipate, and begin to envision the church’s continued ministry for years to come.

I feel confident that the church is in the hands of capable and active lay leadership. The recent investment of
property sale proceeds affords the church the resources to dream deep and wide. In a short time, I’ve been pleased to
see Rev. Dr. Shaun Brown become ever more comfortable and confident in his ministerial leadership with you.

I have spoken and prayed with Rev. Dr. Andy Mangum, our denomination’s Regional Minister, about my plans. I
strongly encourage you to partner with him to begin charting all the necessary steps in the call of a new Senior
Minister.

In the meantime, I will do my best in the remaining weeks of my ministry with you to point the church in the direction
of Christ’s Resurrection and the hope for new beginnings to which Christ’s ministry calls each of us.

In Christ’s Service,
Rev. Dr. Dan Jones