Dear Friends:
It is with a very full heart that I write to you to share with you that my time at FIRM is coming to a close. My last day on staff will be August 29.
The last 11.5 years of my life have been a tremendous privilege. In large part this is due to so many of you, and the communities that we have jointly served. So many of you, along with our community residents, have taught me so much about service, strength, love and perseverance. Retired Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, with whom I had the privilege of studying in seminary, often spoke about the core South African value of Ubuntu, which he defined as, “I am, because you are.” We are joined together in the larger fabric of humanity, each affecting the others. There is no better way to describe the reality that I would not be the person I am today without the work and time that we have shared together. Whether that work has been helping to welcome new refugees, policy and advocacy work, community organizing, working on a joint community project (or several), thank you for what we have been able to do together.
When I accepted the FIRM Board’s summons, at Sharon’s departure a little over a year and a half ago, to serve as Interim Co-Director while they searched for a new, permanent Executive Director, and after a time of transition to help that person settle in, it was the culmination of time at FIRM that saw me start as a volunteer. I also knew it would be temporary, and that it would be time for me to seek new things at its conclusion. On July 1, Zachary Darrah became FIRM’s new Executive Director and at the end of August the transition period will be complete. I know that with new leadership wonderful new things will lie in FIRM’s future.
Blessings and love,
Rev. Sophia DeWitt