Dear First Church,
I am writing to let you know that Bishop Elaine Stanovsky has appointed me as pastor of Redmond United Methodist Church effective February 1, 2022.
It has been one of the great honors of my life to call myself Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Seattle. I give thanks for the way that you welcomed me and my family back to the church community. First Church helped us so much in our transition moving from Germany to Seattle, and for that, I will always be grateful.
We have been through much of the pandemic together – trying to figure out how to be in community amidst being physically apart. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility in allowing me to be your pastor for the first two months while I was still in Germany. You trusted me with your sacred moments and celebrations of joy. You helped me grow in my confidence and leadership as a pastor and I know that I will be a better pastor in my next pastorate because of my time at First Church – and that is a reason to celebrate.
In the meantime, I will still be at First Church for a few more months. I look forward to this time and hope that together we can create space for this transition. As I’m sure you can imagine, this change brings up conflicting emotions as I try to balance the gratitude that I have for First Church, the sadness of saying goodbye, and the excitement and nervousness about what lies ahead for me at Redmond UMC. I am glad to be in this transitory journey with you all and believe that this is a time during which we can lean on one another in experiencing God in our midst.
In Peace,
Rev. Yvonne Agduyeng