Rev. Erika Funk’s Goodbye Letter

October 7, 2013

Dear friends,

Many times this summer I heard someone say that Broad Street Ministry is a magical place, a place of wonder and light.  It’s easy to feel that way.  In my nearly seven years here I have watched as we grew from a handful of people worshipping in the Sunday School Room to a boisterous crowd in the sanctuary.  I’ve been honored to watch the Youth Initiative hatch from an idea to a fully grown program that has nurtured hundreds of teenagers.  Through all the dinners, the overnights and the services the light of this place has never dimmed.

Yet it has changed and so have I.

After much prayer and discernment I have decided my season at Broad Street Ministry is coming to a close.  It certainly was not an easy decision and I will miss this community tremendously  I couldn’t be more proud of what BSM has accomplished; the voice we have been in this city, the love we have demonstrated and the good news we have enacted.  I am grateful to God for allowing me to be witness to such power and grace.

The Youth Initiative is something I have been especially thankful to both create and watch take flight.  And now it is time for another to take it further down the road.

We will begin a search for Coordinator of the Youth Initiative immediately and hopefully welcome them to that position before the end of 2013.  If all goes to plan I will stay for a period of time to pass the torch and we anticipate my last day will be February 1, 2014.

Which brings me back to the magic.  Every time I would hear someone comment on the “magic” of this place I would gently remind them that what they have experienced isn’t magic, but the power and love of God at work in this place and in our lives.  There are still many weeks and months before I leave and plenty of time for continued visioning together, worship and cups of tea.  There is always abundance.

Still full of wonder and light, I thank you for this time and look forward to seeing what God will do next in my life, in your lives and in the life of this ministry.

In peace and grace,

Rev. Erika Funk

Youth Initiative Minister

Broad Street Ministry

Click the link below to read a letter from Bill Golderer, Convening Minister, about Erika’s departure.

https://broadstreetministry.org/news/a-letter-from-convening-minister-bill-golderer/