5th Sunday after Epiphany | February 8th, 2026 | The Rev. Canon Cristi Chapman

Friends, it is good to be with you today. My name is Cristi Chapman, and I am the Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of Olympia. Bishop LaBelle and Nat and I have had conversations this week, and the Bishop asked if I would be with you today, as you begin your leave-taking with Nat, so please know that you are in our prayers and in our hearts in this tender time.

So I’ve only explored caves a handful of times. The last time was more than 30 years ago, but memories of that trip remain burned in my head as if it happened yesterday. That day my husband and I visited a cave that was not far from his parents’ house. It was a well-known spot and one that many amateur spelunkers liked to visit. The day that we went, we were surprised, and yes, a little relieved, to discover that we would have the cavern to ourselves that day. So after grabbing a flashlight and donning our jackets, we made our way into the earth. And within minutes, the only visible light that we could see came from my husband’s flashlight. For nearly an hour, that sole source of light was the only thing that lit the way, as we scrambled over boulders and squeezed ourselves into increasingly tight and narrow crevices.

When we finally came to the end of the cave, the flashlight died. Now, at first, I thought Chris, my husband, was playing a trick on me. But when I heard a somewhat panicked, “Oh no,” slip out of his mouth, I knew that we were in trouble.

Without light, we found ourselves cloaked in darkness. Without each other, that same darkness could have overwhelmed us.

So finding and following God’s light, it is one of the themes in today’s readings. Isaiah urges us to follow the light and love of God, and not the shadows that are cast off by the devices and desires of our own hearts. Jesus takes it a step further, urging us to be the light that God has already made us to be.

Finding and following the light of Christ; it is what our lives of faith are about, and it is also what is at the heart of your ministry at St. Peter’s. In this current season of your common life together, I want to name that that may feel uncertain and hard right now.

At the end of January, your priest-in-charge, Nat Johnson, announced that they have accepted a new call. Now, initially Nat had planned to be with you until February 22nd, a couple of Sundays from now. However, after a week of very intense discernment, both Nat and Bishop LaBelle have agreed that Nat’s last Sunday with you will be today. In addition, with the blessing of and at the direction of Bishop Labelle, your curate McKenzi Roberson will be here until February 22nd.

Pastoral transitions in the church are not unusual. In fact, they are outward and visible signs that the Holy Spirit is moving in and through people who seek to find and follow the light of Christ. But while transitions may be a natural outgrowth of faithful ministry, that does not make them an easy or a simple thing to experience. Even under the best of circumstances, transitions are hard work. When those transitions involve many issues and a number of moving parts, such complexity makes them even more difficult to navigate.

And so that is where you find yourselves right now at St. Peter’s, at the start of a complex and fraught transition. How you choose to navigate these early days of this liminal season will impact the ultimate outcome of your work. In my experience, the way that congregations say goodbye to their clergy says a great deal about how they will welcome new clergy. To begin a new ministry well, you need to end your current one well, or at least as well as you can. Part of that good leave-taking happens today. After the post-communion prayer, we will formally acknowledge the end of this pastoral relationship with you and with Nat. After the service, please take time to thank Nat for their faithful ministry among you.

Your work to end this season of ministry well does not stop there. Next week Canon Carla Robinson and Irene Tanabe will be with you as you commemorate Executive Order 9066. On February 22nd, Canon Ivar Hillesland will be here as you say goodbye to McKenzi. And finally, on March 1st, Bishop LaBelle will be with you. Then he will share his vision for, and his expectations of, you during this transition time, and you will be in dialogue about next steps. Rest assured, there will be lots of support for you from the office of the bishop. But know that we, like other clergy who will serve you, are not the only ones who are called to important work in this liminal season. You are called to that important work too. And in fact, much of the crucial work of this process will be done by you, the people of St. Peter’s. There is lots to do.

First, take time to grieve, and take time to honor the grief of others as well. Listen deeply to one another and to your stories. Remember to speak the truth in love, and remember too that words about the Word should never harm or wound other people. Honestly reflect on this last season of ministry, and how that might inform your hopes for the future. Be curious about what you need to find and follow the light of Christ. Be curious about what you need to let go of, especially practices that cast a shade on that light of Christ. Part of your work will also involve resisting the urge to move quickly through this process. Faithful discernment rarely happens in a hurry, nor can it happen at all when uncertainty and anxiety are high. Those do cast a shadow on the light of Christ and make it hard to find and follow the path that God has already set before you. So I will say now, that for at least a little while, the search process for St. Peter’s will not begin, at least for a little bit of time.

Finally, throughout this entire transition process, support your vestry. You have elected and entrusted them with particular responsibilities that are outlined in the canons of this church. Those same canons state that when a parish is without a priest-in-charge, your wardens take on additional responsibilities on behalf of the parish. Affirm the authority of your vestry and your wardens by supporting them in their work. Thank them, and thank them a lot during the entire time that they are serving in this role, and pray for them endlessly. They give freely of themselves on behalf of this community. Please offer your gratitude generously to them in return. God does, and my hope is that you will too.

There is one more person who travels this path with all of you, and that is Jesus. In this morning’s gospel, he tells each of us that we are salt of the earth and light to the world. But what does that really mean? And why does it matter?

In the natural world, water that is 100% pure does a really good job of insulating things. What it does not do well is transmit energy. In fact, without at least a few minerals that are mixed in, water has no conductivity at all. And it turns out that one of the best conduits for electricity in water is salt. The saltier the water, the more efficiently that same water can transmit energy. At our baptisms, you and I pledge our commitment to find and follow the light of Christ. That baptism is not meant to insulate us from each other or from the challenges of this world. Instead, it is God’s way of using us as conduits for God’s action in this world. It is how God uses us to become salt and light of Christ here and now.

Without the light of Christ, we find ourselves cloaked in darkness, overwhelmed by the challenges of this world and isolated from each other. With the light of Christ, we find our way out of that cave, engaged in the world and beacons of God’s hope, justice, and love.

My friends, be the salt and light that God has made you to be. It is how you will become the light of Christ for all who long to find and follow Jesus. Amen.