Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

On November 4, 2012, Grace Presbytery installed me as the pastor of Ridglea Presbyterian Church, and on that day, you answered these questions affirmatively:

(1) Do we, the members of the church, accept Ryan as our pastor, chosen by God through the voice of this congregation to guide us in the way of Jesus Christ?

(2) Do we agree to pray for him, to encourage him, to respect his decisions, and to follow as he guides us, serving Jesus Christ, who alone is Head of the Church?

(3) Do we promise to pay him fairly and provide for his welfare as he works among us; to stand by him in trouble and share his joys? Will we listen to the word he preaches, welcome his pastoral care, and honor his authority as he seeks to honor and obey Jesus Christ our Lord?

As we stood together in the sanctuary that day, neither you nor I could have anticipated that God would soon be calling us to go from that place to a land that God would show us, but you have been faithful, brave, patient, and kind as together we have navigated a complex and emotional relocation process.  

When we decommissioned the Camp Bowie building last summer, I envisioned a day in the near future when together we would dedicate our new home on Southwest Boulevard.  I was convinced that the ministry task that God had set before me was to lead Ridglea Presbyterian Church out of the Camp Bowie Building, into our temporary quarters in River Oaks, and finally into our new site on Southwest Boulevard.

However, as Scripture reminds us, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.”  Although I was not anticipating or seeking a new call, and although my Personal Information Form has not been in circulation, nonetheless early this fall the Spirit began a conversation between me and the First Presbyterian Church of Athens, Georgia.

When it became clear from those initial conversations that the Spirit might be calling me to a new ministry, I had myriad reservations and objections.  Amy, the boys, and I deeply love the people of Ridglea Presbyterian Church. As we have proven time and again over these years, a church is not a building, it’s a people!  Even though Nathan and Daniel were just 18 months old when we arrived, this is the only church home that they remember, and it’s the only church home that Joshua has ever known.  The boys attend a fabulous Fort Worth ISD school, and Fort Worth is a fantastic place for young families like ours. The thought of leaving all of that behind is almost more than our hearts can bear.

Nonetheless, despite all of our hesitations and objections, it has become abundantly clear to Amy and me that the Spirit has other plans for us.

Therefore it is with heavy emotion that I announce that I have accepted God’s call through the voice of the congregation to serve as the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Athens, Georgia, and I have requested that Grace Presbytery dissolve the pastoral relationship between me and Ridglea Presbyterian Church effective Monday, February 4.

I imagine that this news will raise many questions, far more than I could hope to answer in this letter.  Know that just as it has been since our first day together, my door is open to you, and should you desire to talk with me in the weeks ahead, I will be happy to meet at your home, your workplace, or just about anywhere else that is convenient and comfortable for you.

The Committee on Ministry of Grace Presbytery is already working on a pastoral transition plan, and the church is in the excellent and capable hands of the session.  As Ridglea enters this season, it is my hope and prayer that you will covenant to do three things:

Be diligent and consistent in your prayers.  Pray for the session of your church, lifting up each elder by name.  Their leadership and guidance will be invaluable for the church in the coming months.  Pray for the Committee on Ministry and for the presbytery as they assist the session and the church as a whole.  Pray for your church staff, remembering how hard they work to empower you in your ministry. Pray for the next pastor of Ridglea Presbyterian Church, remembering that even though he or she is unknown to you today, God has already selected your next pastor.

Be diligent and consistent in your worship attendance.  During a pastoral transition, it’s common for some people to drift away from church for a time while they “wait and see” who the next pastor will be.  Remember that you have been called each Lord’s Day to come together to worship the Triune God, not the preacher, and your presence and your positive energy are needed and valued more than ever.

Be diligent and consistent with your financial support.  You are a generous congregation, and Ridglea’s mission and ministry must and will continue in the midst of this transition.

We have been a good match, and in these six-plus years, we have accomplished much together.  We have weathered challenges and setbacks that could have easily broken a less faithful congregation.  Your next pastor will find a congregation that knows who it is now and who God is calling it to be in the future: connectional, inclusive, intergenerational, generous, deliberative, and musical.  She or he will come to a building that is newly renovated and expanded and located in the geographic center of its current membership in a neighborhood that it has known and served for over seven decades.  She or he will come to a congregation with no debt, a healthy and growing endowment, and a people who are ready and willing to do the work that God is calling them to do. She or he will find a congregation that knows how to love and invest in its pastor, tolerate mistakes with grace, and celebrate successes with abandon.  The future for Ridglea Presbyterian Church is exceptionally bright.

As sad as we are to leave Fort Worth, Amy and I are excited about what God has in store for our family.  FPC Athens will mark its bicentennial in 2020, but I will be just the eleventh senior pastor in 200 years.  The congregation has developed vibrant children’s and youth ministry programs that will continue to carefully nurture the seeds of faith that you have so faithfully tended in the hearts of our three sons.  Athens is home to the University of Georgia, and like Ridglea, the congregation is full of leaders who desire to make an impact on their community for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Words cannot express the deep and heartfelt gratitude we feel when we think of you, so I will turn to God’s Word and these words from Colossians 1:

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

May the Lord watch between you and me while we are apart one from another.

Rev. Dr. Ryan J. Baer

Dear friends in Christ,

On July 20, 2007, Nicci Kennedy answered God’s call to serve the Ridglea Presbyterian Church as Coordinator of Children’s and Youth Ministries, and for over a decade, she has served this congregation with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.

Therefore, it is with both profound sadness at her impending departure and profound thanksgiving for her years of faithful service that the session reports that Nicci has discerned that God is calling her to new horizons and that she has tendered her resignation effective October 15.  Please see Nicci’s letter to the congregation below.

In the gospels, Jesus says whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  Nicci has abundant gifts for welcoming children, and for eleven years, she has generously shared those gifts with us. Nicci has welcomed infants and toddlers in the nursery, elementary school children in Messenger Fellowship, and middle and high school students in Ridglea Presbyterian Church Youth.  Nicci has held firm to the conviction that these children and youth are not the “future of the church,” but rather a vital an integral part of the present of the church now. Nicci has played a vital role in the development of intergenerational ministry as one of our congregation’s core values, and she has been a valuable colleague in ministry.  She has left an indelible mark on this congregation, and she will be greatly missed.

We hope that you will join us in the River Oaks Fellowship Hall for a reception after worship on Sunday, October 21, as we celebrate and give thanks for Nicci’s ministry among us.  You are invited and encouraged to write a note of appreciation for Nicci, and if you would like to include a gift, please note that from an income tax perspective, it is more advantageous to both Nicci and the church if you make your gift directly to her, rather than routing it through the church.

While we know that this announcement will come as a surprise to many, the Christian Education Committee and the session are already hard at work on transition plans and that our commitment to vibrant children’s and youth ministries at Ridglea Presbyterian Church remains as strong as ever.  If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to speak with any member of the session.

Your servants in Christ,

The Session of Ridglea Presbyterian Church

Friends,

I have come to the decision that it is time for me to leave Ridglea Presbyterian Church.  This has been a very challenging and difficult decision for me to reach. I asked the Session not to share this announcement until after the Fall weekend retreat with our youth, so that our time could be focused on their growth, and helping seeds to be planted and nurtured, and not on me and my leaving.

It has been my joy and privilege to be a part of so much with this congregation over the last eleven years: four Senior pastors, two locations, new friends, loss of colleagues, and most importantly, being a part of the growth and development of so many children and youth. So many opportunities for both personal and professional growth have been given to me in this city that raised me.

I have spent much time meditating and in prayer about this next step. I have come to realize it is time for me to continue in prayer with and for Ridglea Presbyterian Church, but from a new place. This decision has not been reached easily as I care so much for you all– especially our children and youth.

This time of discernment for Ridglea Presbyterian Church continues. I am confident God is with you all in this journey as God is with each of us.

This congregation has had an incredible impact on my life! Sharing in times of laughter and tears, times of giggles and tough questions, times of learning and sharing and for all of that and so much more I will always be thankful. I have experienced festivals and funerals, celebrations and tears, whoopies and poopies (term used by the youth), flooding and moving, creating and recreating, games and recitals, doctor appointments and tough decisions, no where and now here moments that are formational and God-filled. Thank you for trusting me, for walking with me in ministry, and for welcoming me into your lives. The memories will never be forgotten.

You are all loved and will be in my prayers. I am sad not to see Ridglea Presbyterian Church move through this phase and into the final destination on Southwest Blvd. I rest assured God is with us wherever we go! We need to continue to invite God into our space, share, but also listen. I truly believe we have two ears and one mouth so we will spend twice as much time listening as we do sharing. My hope for each of you is to take time everyday to share with God and also take time to listen as you discern as a congregation what is to come.

“May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from the other.”  Genesis 31:49

With great hope-

Nicci Kennedy

On July 29, Ridglea Presbyterian Church decommissioned our building at 6201 Camp Bowie Boulevard as we prepare to move to a new permanent home at 5000 Southwest Boulevard in 2019.

The contractor planned to begin demolishing the Camp Bowie building on Wednesday, October 17, but weather conditions have caused delays.

Please plan accordingly.

Dear friends,

One of the things I’ve noticed in my career in ministry is that people genuinely want to study the whole Bible – to understand its history, geography, and stories AND how it relates to their own lives today.  However, lots of obstacles tend to get in the way – busy schedules, difficulty with some passages, discipline of staying on a reading schedule, etc.

I want to try an experiment this Fall.  I want to lead a group of folks through a 12-week program called Disciple Fast Track.  Here’s how it would work:

We would covenant together to reading 3-5 chapters of the bible each day (using a study guide).  On Sunday mornings from 9-9:45 a.m. during the Sunday School hour, we would meet together to watch a short (5 minute) video lesson, and I would facilitate a guided group discussion about what we’ve read.  We would also covenant to pray with and for one another during these 12 weeks.

The class would have an orientation at 9 a.m. on September 9, and then meet every Sunday morning except for November 25 (Thanksgiving weekend) through December 9.  When we’ve completed the 12 weeks, we’ll have had an excellent overview of the Old Testament and developed or honed a personal habit of daily bible reading.

We’d take the rest of December off, and then beginning January 6, those that wanted to would continue with the 12-week New Testament track.  We’d take off March 10 (the first Sunday of Spring Break), and we’d wrap up by March 31, just in time to get ready for Easter.  Those that complete both tracks will have an excellent overview of the whole biblical story in just 24 weeks.  But more importantly, we’ll have deepened our discipleship in Jesus Christ and our commitment to one another.

There are some costs involved.  The study guides are $16 each (one for OT and one for NT), and it would be ideal if each participant had their own guide to write in, etc. rather than sharing with a partner or spouse.  A good study bible would also be ideal (rather than say an antique King James family heirloom bible), and if you’re interested, I can make some recommendations there.

It would also require a commitment of time for keeping up with the daily reading assignments and participating in the Sunday morning group discussions.

I’m not looking to cannibalize or interrupt our existing Sunday School classes.  If you’re happy with what’s being offered in other classes, please don’t feel obligated to participate just because the pastor e-mailed you.

But if you’re interested in this short-term experiment, you can find more information and register below.

As always, I’m happy to answer questions.

Peace be with you,
Ryan

Many hands make light work, and we need yours to help us get our temporary home ready for moving day! Join us at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 15 at 4350 River Oaks Blvd.  No previous cleaning experience is necessary, and all are welcome!

Lunch will be provided.  In order to ensure enough food for all, please RSVP here.