July 14, 2024
Dear Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church Family and Friends,
Earlier today, the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina elected me at their congregational meeting to be their next Senior Pastor and Head of Staff. With humility and in faith, I have accepted the call.
I share this decision with equal parts excitement and grief. I am excited for the opportunity to step into this new role and to use the gifts God has given me and that you, individually and communally, have helped to grow and cultivate within me. I grieve that this means leaving a congregation and community that I (and my family) love deeply. I take comfort knowing that sadness and grief come when one has loved and been loved well. You all have certainly loved me and my family well. For that, I will always be grateful. I trust that you know fully our love for you.
Chris and I are still working out the precise logistics of our transition as a family, however we do know that school begins for the kids in South Carolina on Tuesday, August 13th. Though we may have some traveling back and forth throughout August, to facilitate a smooth start for the kids in new schools, my last Sunday at PCPC will be August 4th .
I leave thanking God for eighteen wonderful years of ministry within a healthy and vibrant congregation, serving alongside some of the most gifted colleagues in the denomination. It is because of who you are and who you have allowed me to be that I am able to enter this next chapter of ministry. I give thanks to God for the ties that bind us one to another, even while we are absent one from another. Please know that when you find yourself in the Charleston area, you have an open invitation to worship at MPPC and to come break bread with the Abdnour family in our new hometown
With much love and great affection,
Nicole Partin Abdnour
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Dear Friends,
The Christian life is always a life of seasons. With Nicole’s news above, we enter now into a season of saying goodbye to a family we love.
Nicole has been my pastoral colleague longer than any other, and her extraordinary competence, shared values, and steadfast friendship have made ministering with her a joy. I easily understand how Mount Pleasant Presbyterian could seek her leadership.
I know Nicole has been prayerful and care-full in discernment regarding God’s call. We have been generously blessed by God with Nicole’s nearly 20 years of ministry amongst us. Now God is calling us to help bless Nicole and her family and support them as they faithfully move into this new chapter and call.
Nicole will preach in the sanctuary on Sunday July 28th at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM. On Sunday, August 4, there will be a reception in the Fellowship Hall beginning at 10:00 AM so that we might say goodbye and express our gratitude
You can send cards for Nicole to the church office You can send emails to Nicole@palmaceia.org
My prayer is this: “God, thank you for the wonderful blessing of Nicole’s ministry, collegiality, and friendship. Help us to faithfully bless her as she faithfully follows your call.”
In Christ’s love and trusting God,
John
John T. DeBevoise Pastor
