text: I am down to the last few weeks of my internship with both Tree of Life, the congregation and Rev. Sean. This has been a wonderful experience for me and I have so many people to thank for helping me navigate through these last nine months. It is with great sadness that I will be leaving you as I have come to enjoy the time I have spent with you and will miss seeing your smiling faces on Sunday mornings and at other times.
  There are rules that are set by the Unitarian Universalist Association that govern my actions as I leave you. The toughest of these rules are one that dictates that for one year after I leave I must not maintain any contact with the members of the congregation. Although I will find this a very hard rule to comply with I also understand that there is a period of grief that comes with my leaving. I have, as I look forward to June 1, begun the grieving process and I know this will be hard for me as well as for the congregation.
  If you find that I have “unfriended” you from Facebook, please do not be offended, it is just part of the process. I hope that after my year is up I will be able to drop by Tree of Life for a visit and I hope to see all of your smiling faces again.
  That being said, there are always exceptions to the rules. The Worship Arts committee has invited me to preach four Sundays during Rev. Sean’s summer leave and I have agreed. We have yet to firm up dates but keep watching the Church Happenings and you will find me there. This will extend my year of absence but it will make the leaving easier.
  Thank you to everyone at Tree of Life and a special thanks to Rev. Sean for allowing me this great opportunity.