Message from the Rev. Canon Todd D. Smelser:

Dear Friends in Christ,

In May I celebrated my 60th Birthday, and in June the beginning of my 35th year of Ordination in the Episcopal Church. Prior to that, Dean Candler and I reached a very happy agreement that I would retire from full-time ministry on September 1, and then rejoin the staff shortly thereafter as Canon Associate for Pastoral Care. In that new role, I will no longer be the Canon for Pastoral Care and Worship, but will be working two days a week as Pastoral Visitor. I will be visiting hospitals and assisted living facilities, officiating at funerals and being available for other duties as needed. I will also be present here many Sunday mornings and afternoons, celebrating and preaching.

Being at the Cathedral these past seven years has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience for me. Although most of my ministry was as a Rector or Dean, I have enjoyed not being in charge. I like being part of a large congregation and of a very gifted and committed staff. The Dean encourages every member of the Cathedral to have a priest whom they know and can call on when needed. I am most thankful for all those sacred relationships and friendships that have grown these past years. When I think of all the weddings, funerals, liturgies and conversations that I have participated in, I am filled with much gratitude. I am thankful for the faithful service and commitment that I have witnessed, and the tender moments of joy and grief that we have shared. I will always remember the many adult confirmation classes I have taught, the pastoral visits made, the Eucharistic Visitors trained, and the joyful presence of our youth acolytes whom I have tried to help shepherd.

Now it is time for a different rhythm and cadence in my life. While I will still be very present in the Cathedral ministry, I will look forward to a bit more family time, travel, reading and some serious music playing. It was music that first lured me into the door of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond Indiana, and it is music that is drawing me back into practice and perhaps performance.

For my guide I return to T. S. Eliot’s familiar words from Little Gidding. “What we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

I am thankful to the Dean for allowing me to make a new beginning out of this ending, and look forward to many years ahead here on the staff of St. Philip’s Cathedral.

Faithfully yours,

The Rev. Canon Todd D. Smelser