It is always sad when parishioners have to move away.

I do not often take requests…..but….

… a  priest friend has asked me to write about Connie, whom he has known since he was a young apricot and used to supply in her parish. She would pick him up from the airport, and the two of them would catch up as they made their journey to the presbytery.

What’s unique about Connie is her love of priesthood—not just the person who holds the title, but the reality that each baptised person is enthused with the Holy Spirit, which makes them Priests, Prophets, Kings, and Queens.

Priesthood is never about power; it is about service and sacrifice.

One of the ways, that Connie’s priesthood is demonstrated is through her unique ability to catechise. She has a skill for educating children and parents using conventional methods, but she possesses a matchless talent for teaching the Gospel when she shows parishioners how to make stained glass windows and mosaics. They think they are coming to learn a new skill, but they leave as artists of the Good News.

How does she do it? She teaches and listens.

When creating a shoal of fish out of broken tiles, she will recount Jesus, Peter, James, and John on the Sea of Galilee. Inevitably, as students join her in patterning the mosaic, they begin to talk to her about Jesus—how He is present or absent in their lives.

My priest friend tells me that Connie is not intense or intrusive. She has a gift for allowing people to share and to feel safe. They laugh and giggle, they cry and hug.

She serves those students—young and old—by breaking open the Gospel in the most gentle and creative way, and she sacrifices her time in doing so.

Her move away from that parish will be an enormous loss.

My friend was not there to say goodbye, but I send this reflection with love and thanks on his behalf to Connie—for showing him how to be a priest.

A Blessing for Connie

May the snow-capped mountains rise to meet you,

May the Spirit guide your steps,

May your hands continue to shape beauty,

And your heart remain open to those who seek.

May your priesthood—quiet, creative, and kind—

Flourish wherever you go.

And may those you meet be blessed

By the light you carry

And the love you so freely give.