On Friday, October 27, 2023, I had plans. I was going to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie with my younger kids, Associate Pastor Sarah Christopher, and a group of her friends. I even had my sequin outfit all picked out.
That morning I attended a wonderful balance and chi gong class at Grace led by Kerry Brackett and Edie Kausch, then hopped on my bike for a peaceful ride up White Sulphur Springs Road. I wanted to get back into cycling shape—and ready for rides with Mac. Instead, I hit a pothole. I spent the weekend in two different hospitals having my face put back together, the following weeks in dentists’ offices having my teeth put back together, then the next month resting and recovering before stumbling back to church.
Over the next several months, the trauma from the accident, combined with years of prolonged stress from the pandemic, fires, and my orientation toward life caught up with me. I began experiencing symptoms that made me feel like I was going crazy. In truth, I was developing post-traumatic stress disorder, which worsened to the point that I had to take full-time disability leave for nearly seven months.
A year ago, the vestry and I reached a watershed moment. The uncertainty and strain of my indefinite absence had become unsustainable for the congregation, yet I was not fully ready to resume the reins. Would we continue forward together, or part ways? Through all the difficulty, I still felt deeply called to serve Grace, and after a period of intentional discernment our leaders affirmed that call to continue our journey together. We entered a defined process that would lead to my full restoration as your rector. Over the next eight months, with the support of our leaders, staff, congregation, Bishop Alan, my mentors, and my therapist, I continued to heal while gradually reintegrating into the leadership of the church. The “welcome back” blessing planned by the vestry on August 10 was one of the most profoundly moving moments of my life.
Now, one year later, we find ourselves at a moment of palpable energy and excitement as a congregation. As we celebrate our sesquicentennial, we look back over not just the past few years, but at the struggles and triumphs of the generations that have come before us, and forward to a future that is unknown, except for the conviction that it will be substantially different from the past. (If you missed it or want to revisit, check out the recording of our 150th anniversary workshop with The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zsheile, “A Vision for the Future of the Church.”)
In recent weeks, I’ve been in regular conversation with our livestream producer and documentary filmmaker, Brian Capener, as his year-long work on the film marking Grace’s 150th anniversary has come into focus. Brian’s creative lens for the film, At the Crossroads, is the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey, first outlined by Joseph Campbell in 1949 as a story pattern found across religions and cultures, consists of the broad stages of departure, trial, and transformation. Christopher Vogler in his 1992 adaptation for screenwriters recast Campbell’s story pattern into twelve stages. As I look back over the last few years, many of these stages resonate, particularly “ordeal,” “seizing the sword,” “the road back,” and “resurrection.”
Paralleling the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Hero’s Journey is really all of our journeys. We all face ordeals that test and transform us. We worship a God who brings new life out of every kind of death—something I first learned years ago when I found a fresh onion growing out of my compost heap, and have learned more recently in my own flesh, brain, and soul, and in the life of our community. Brian’s film At the Crossroads uses the Hero’s Journey to trace that same pattern of death and resurrection through Grace’s life as a congregation. In this story, Grace Church is the hero—and we are all part of it. The “boon” or “elixir” we have discovered along the way is a church which is not dependent on one person; a community with resilience and resurrection written into its DNA; a vine deeply rooted in the good soil of God’s grace, abiding in the vine that is Jesus, with branches that never stop reaching out to one another, our community, and our world.
On Monday, October 27, 2025, I have plans. I’ll be at the Cameo Theater in downtown St. Helena with 139 of my closest companions on this journey, watching At the Crossroads. I hope to see you there.
deep peace, Amy+
PS Reserve your seat for 5PM 10/27 at the Cameo here! OR email office@grace-episcopal.org or sign-up after church on Sunday and make your $10 contribution at the door.
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