Rev. Melissa Cooper: An Update

You may have noticed that this blog, my Facebook page and my website have been pretty quiet over the last few months. (You also might not have noticed, so consider this a newsletter then ...)

Well, there has been a lot of development in my life in the last few months. At the end of May, I began serving as the Minister of Worship and Arts at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Orlando (yep, the closest Methodist church to Mickey). I'll eventually write about my shift in context to the local church, but suffice it to say the vocational shift is not as dramatic as it appears. 

Since arriving at St. Luke's, much like the shift I wrote about last year, I have had to figure out a whole new normal, both personally and professionally. Things were really going well, and this opportunity was not one I was looking for ... but it found me. And now I find myself with a lot of opportunity, and a little challenge.

I'm blessed to lead the most talented and gifted team of folks I have ever worked with. They're all artists, and they're all some of the best in their fields (it's amazing to be inspired by the people you work with every single day). I'm blessed to serve with other church leadership who have the best heads on their shoulders I could ask for. The desire to be the best church we can be, not just the biggest church we can be (although the size of this church is a whole other challenge!), is present in every person I work with. And finally being able to work with and learn from a clergywoman on a daily basis is something my heart never knew how much it needed. 

I'm challenged by many things, not the least of which is a 40-60 minute commute one-way each day. I'm challenged to figure out how church life and coach/consultant/speaker/writer life work together. I'm challenged to finish out some of the projects I took on prior to taking this position. I'm challenged to continue some ongoing projects. I'm challenged to bring cohesion to my team in a way that allows them to be more them than they ever have been, and at the same time stay out of their way. And I think I'm up for all of these challenges.

What that does mean is that, like you've seen by my silence over the last few months, I'll be here sharing a little less. It means I'll take on fewer projects. It means I'm not as available for speaking gigs as I was. It means I'm going to be a little more particular, because right now my biggest and most important project is right here in Orlando. (I do plan to share some about that in the coming months, because it's incredible.)

So thank you for sticking with me. I'm not going anywhere; it'll just be a little quieter around here ...