Things to say to a group when you are leaving them

Explain to them that when you leave you are gone:

• That you will not do weddings, come back for graduations or anything else.
  
• You will do college recommendations. (This is an important courtesy and one that you can probably do better than anyone else in the church. This is not really interfering.)
  
• They are to welcome your successor warmly. “I have not done my job well if my leaving disrupts things or my successor is treated in a un-Christian fashion.”
  
• Explain that things will change and need to change.
  
• They should be told that they should never ever say things like “we've never done it that way before,” “[your name] always/never/used to...” etc