January 25, 2015
Third Sunday After The Epiphany
Rev. Amy Welin:
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Good News
I hear the story of the call of the first apostles, and I am amazed at the immediacy and energy of their response. They said yes to Christ and they meant it. Their commitment changed the world.
At the same time I am saddened because the call of Christ – the call to pray, serve, and proclaim good news – often goes unheard in St John’s. As a result, the state of the parish is precarious.
There have been some significant points of light in the last year. The RePurposing Task Force has labored to find a way to use our property to the benefit of the parish. Outreach has labored to support people in need in the city, including three refugee families. I have labored to nurture a spiritual life in the parish. Individuals have labored to carry on in ministries like Altar Guild, Children’s Church, and Lay Eucharistic Visitation.
You have told me what you want: to stay in this location, to have a successful parish.
I wonder what that looks like to you. How can we have success and expanded program in this place without engaged and committed people and without money to sustain it?
As your pastor I love you, and as a person I really like you. I am puzzled by the lethargy in the parish. We have lots of work to do. We are still far away from financial viability. We are also distant from spiritual viability.
I am dismayed that some complain about reduced services and increased demand for financial support, and that some wonder why I keep emphasizing religious practice like prayer and Bible study. My friends, this is not a buffet. The measure we give is the measure we get back. We are a church. Here is the truth: We are Christians, we follow Jesus, we work together, and we pay our own way.
I have heard the problem-saturated history of Waterbury, the story of the loss of industry and glory, the increase in crime and poverty, which is mingled with the story of the decline of the fortunes of St John’s. I have heard the many reasons explaining choices to not participate more or work harder: too busy with family – too busy with work – too old/not old enough – not enough money. It is all sad, and doesn’t address your future.
Do you want St John’s to live? (not a rhetorical question) What will you DO to that end?
There are three things the parish needs to consider immediately.
St. John’s parish needs to get in touch with your spiritual side. Embrace Sunday as a celebration by disciples of Jesus Christ. We are church and not just a gathering of friends. (It is not possible to overstate the import of this foundational theological principle of our reason to exist). Do church like you mean it: sing, pray, respond. We need to transform our worship and our music so they are active and engaged and not passive. Worship in this community must be our passion, not merely habit. The God we worship is the God to whom we pray and sing, and the God of our worship is tired, kind of dull, and easy to tune out. Participation in worship gives apostles the energy to share the good news beyond the doors of the parish.
St. John’s parish needs to embrace a life of generous stewardship. Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart will be (Matthew 6.21). Current stewardship practice contradicts the parishioners’ statements about how deeply they love the parish. What we do with our money and everything else we have is part of our spiritual life. A disciplined commitment to stewardship would bring life to the parish: better and more committed financial pledging, wiser use of property, less squeamishness about money, and more personal generosity with time and talent.
St. John’s parish needs to reinvigorate our apostolic ministry. Pray as if your life depends on it. Read the scripture as if your life depends on it. Get out of the building and work as if the world depends on it, because it does. Remember that we are missionaries of Christ or we will be nothing. (The inspiration for this phrase is from the Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church, and the video on mission. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/missionary-society.)
Discover our new mission: figure out what breaks our hearts in Waterbury and commit ourselves to transforming it. What are we willing to DO?
We have been living into the reality of the death of the established church and the demise of the old glory of Waterbury. Have you noticed how depressing it is? It is time to live into the reality of resurrection.
Jesus promises that our losses have meaning. Jesus promises that we have the power through faith to transform the world. Jesus shows us that beyond death there is always new life.
Please choose life.