This thesis posits that the preacher who is leading a congregation through a major pastoral transition needs to tend to his/her own personal experience of the transition in order to preach comfort and hope and to inspire courage and boldness on the part of the parishioners in the midst of change. In a situation of an imminent pastoral vacancy, the preacher is always ahead of the congregation in terms of knowledge about the transition and needs to discern when to share that information and whether the sermon is an appropriate place for such disclosure. Conversations and interviews with parishioners and insights gained through work with a professional coach support the discovery that working through one's own feelings and reactions to the transition and all the issues that the transition brings is an imperative first step in helping the congregation work through their own feelings and reactions to the change that led to the transition.
