06/28/2026
๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ง. ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐
How time flies! It feels like it was just yesterday that I walked into Saint David for the first time in August of 2019 to serve this amazing parish. As I have been reflecting on the transitions announced in May, I am continually reminded of how truly blessed I have been to serve as your Pastor for the last seven years.
My greatest treasure from this time is the openness you showed in sharing your lives with me. We have journeyed together through the joys of baptisms, weddings, First Communions, Confirmations, and our celebration of the Eucharist together. We have also shared moments of profound sacredness โ from praying by the bedside of a loved one and anointing them with the soothing oil of Godโs tenderness to even the grief of laying a loved one to rest in the hope of eternal life. Words cannot fully express the joy and gratitude in my heart for my time here.
Saying goodbye is a bittersweet experience because of the deeply meaningful relationships we have cultivated. I am proud to say that the St. David community truly grasps what it means to be the Church. You are a local caring family where people truly know and care for one another. At the same time, you acknowledge the brokenness of the larger world, reaching beyond yourselves in compassion and service. Furthermore, the children and youth of St. David fill me with great hope and encouragement for the future as I watch them respond to Godโs call in faith and generosity.
In spite of the sadness and struggle of leaving, I am so very thankful for the relationships we have formed and the many ways the people of this parish have helped me to grow in my relationship with God. I am excited for Fr. Alexander Pancoast to meet you, and for you to meet him. He is fully ready to lead and serve as your shepherd in the coming years.
I would like to close with a Scripture passage from St. Paulโs letter to the Philippians, which perfectly captures my prayers for you: โI thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christโto the glory and praise of God.โ (1:3-6, 9-11)
God bless,
Fr. Windle
