Celebration of Our Common Ministry

Good evening, Bishop Singh, David our rector, fellow parishioners, and all our friends gathered here to be part of this very special celebration......a celebration of our common ministry in our community here in Penn Yan, Yates County and our common ministries in all the communities of which we are a part. As members of God’s kingdom on earth, we do, together, have much to celebrate.

It was almost two years ago that our then rector, Denise Yarbrough, was called away to become a member of the bishop’s staff centered at Diocesan House in Rochester, to continue from there the good work she does. Then began for us here at St. Mark’s a transition for which we were not sure we were ready. At the time, I wrote the following for our newsletter, The Voice: “One of life’s lessons is the realization that change and transition is going to happen. It is life. Sometimes change is good; sometimes it is not. Sometimes it is expected; sometimes it is a great surprise. Sometimes we look forward to transitions eagerly; sometimes we dread them. Sometimes things work out as we had hoped or planned; sometimes there are great surprises."

Well....the transition for David and the people of St. Mark’s has been full of wonderful surprises---and great celebrations. David came to us as deacon so the first celebration was his ordination to the priesthood; many of you were here for that splendid event. The next big celebration was marking 130 years of St. Mark’s being in this building. Throughout the church year, of course, we celebrated the feasts of Easter, Christmas and St. Mark’s Day; and, we celebrated the completion of the columbarium. Soon we will be celebrating David’s move to his new house.   David loves to celebrate! We love celebrating with him and expect to join him in many more celebrations. It seems that we can always find something to celebrate.

But tonight, we are celebrating the formal recognition that we have called our former deacon-in-charge and priest-in-charge to be our rector.   He will no longer be, as he has entitled himself “rector-in-waiting”. He will be our rector.   This is indeed a call for celebration....a call to celebrate our common ministry.

This event is a celebration of common ministry because, even though we are gathered to install David as the new rector of St. Mark’s Church, Penn Yan, the ministry in which he will continue to engage here among us, is one that will be shared by all of us.   There are times when David will be alone as he visits the sick or prepares a sermon, but as he visits and prepares, he will know that parishioners, friends, colleagues and the people of this community are with him. And we will know as we go about our individual and common ministries, that he is with us. What we do, we do together with and on behalf of each other. Our ministry is a common one on behalf of and with God.

As I pondered how to frame tonight’s message, I happened to hear about Ernest Hemingway having once made a bet that he could write a story in six words. This report has been circulating throughout the internet; many six-word stories have been posted from all over the country. The idea intrigued me as a possible frame for my words tonight so I have condensed the scriptures we just heard into a six-word story that not only might enlighten us about what Samuel, Paul and Mark are sharing but also might help us think in a different way about our common ministry.

My story is: God calls; brings gifts; we respond. God calls; brings gifts; we respond.   Now I could stop here, couldn’t I and we could move right along to the rest of the celebration. But.....sorry....I do have more to say.   My story again: God calls; brings gifts; we respond.

God calls. When God called to Samuel, Samuel did not recognize God’s voice. Twice, Samuel went to Eli, saying, here I am; twice, Eli told Samuel it was not he, Eli, who called him, who was seeking him. It was God. God had something for Samuel to do. How often do we not recognize the voice of God? I am reasonably certain that each of us here tonight can relate to Samuel’s confusion. Each of us has, probably, experienced similar confusion. We may sense that there is something we should be doing. Where is that feeling coming from?   We need Elis to help us recognize that it is God who is looking for us; it is God who needs us to be a member of a common ministry---to offer a ministry on behalf of our community. God calls us in many ways to do many things. One way may be through recognition of a particular need in our community---hunger, shelter, domestic violence, visiting the homebound---and then, having recognized the need, gathering resources to meet it. Or….we may hear the voice of God from our friend who needs comforting through a loss or an illness. Or....God’s voice may come to us as we consider a matter of public policy that affects our community or our neighbors throughout the world.   When the feeling that there is something we should or could be doing to help make our communities and the world more peaceful and nurturing places persists, we might want to take some time to think and pray about it, perhaps share our feeling with a trusted friend. We may begin, then, to recognize the voice of God and hear what it is that God has for us to do.

Chapter two of my story: Brings gifts. When God calls, God does not come empty-handed; God brings gifts. Often, those gifts are enhancements of qualities that we have had forever...qualities that we have been developing over time. What God brings to us anew is the encouragement to use them in whatever ministry to which we are being called. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul lays out a number of types of gifts we may have. The important thing to remember is that no one of us has all of these gifts. God gives to each of us our unique combination of gifts. It is the bringing together of all of them that makes common ministry work. It is the recognition and affirmation that we give to one another that builds our common ministry and makes it bloom.

Final chapter of my story: We respond.   God calls; brings gifts; we respond. This is where we—God’s people--enter the story as active participants: God has called us; God has brought us gifts. Now, how do we respond? The way in which we respond to God’s call and God’s gifts has everything to do with our participating in common ministry.   We may ignore God’s call, push it away, busy ourselves with something else. We can say that we feel incompetent or that we that have other plans for ourselves. There are many excuses to respond by saying “no, thank you”. We may be uncomfortable saying “no, thank you” but we still push God away. These are responses, but such responses do not result in ministry. It may be that we only move towards accepting God’s call, God’s invitation to join in the work of God, when we feel the support of community, our family and friends surrounding us. Feeling supported, we will find the courage to step out and to listen to what God is calling us to do.   To encourage each other in our responses to God’s call is a large part of the work of common ministry.

The people of St. Mark’s, Penn Yan--along with the rest of the people of Yates County--have for years actively responded to God’s call. This community has heard the needs of the hungry among us, has heard those who need help with clothing and shelter, has heard the victims of domestic violence. Outreach to people with these needs represents just a few of the ministries that flourish in our community. People in Yates County have also worked on issues of public policy, hearing God’s voice calling them to speak out, to tell our local, state and nationally elected officials that we are fervently concerned about the issues affecting the daily lives of all who live in our rural communities as well as the lives of those living far away. There are many, many instances of people of this parish and of this community having heard God’s call and used the gifts with which God has blessed them to respond to the physical and spiritual needs of the people with whom they live. In his book, “Good News of Jesus”, L. William Countryman describes the church at its best as being “a community that lives by ....... sharing, exercising generosity not only within its own circle, but toward outsiders as well. Jesus, after all, came for the outsiders.” St. Mark’s, and the community in which it is placed, has shown that it knows how to share and to exercise generosity and is moving towards becoming a church and community at its best.

But there are still calls to be heard, ministry to be done. God’s work is never done. The kingdom is here and yet still to be fully realized. As we here at St. Mark’s moved through the discernment process that was prelude to calling David to be our rector, we developed four goal areas for St. Mark’s to work toward during the coming year---or years. The goals are organized under the headings of Formation, Communication, Becoming a Welcoming Church and Looking at New Church Models. As I thought about them in reference to my six-word story, I found that there were connections between them----and not just for St. Mark’s, I believe, but for all people living and working in communities----whether in a church or some other gathering.

When we are a member of a community, there is an on-going process of formation as we grow into the full life of that community. Related to my story, we might say formation is the process of discerning who it is that God is calling us to become. It is a process that is never-ending. At St. Mark’s we have defined formation---at least for the moment---as offering educational opportunities for all members----opportunities in Sunday School for children, adult classes, or forums during coffee hour. The possibilities are endless. What is important is that all parishioners have opportunities to explore their faith and how it relates to the important issues in our daily lives. Formation is an activity that is necessary, however, in each of the communities of which we are a part, whether formally or informally. It is how we learn to be participating members of and to build our communities. It is how we develop plans that will move us towards the church at its best as defined by Mr. Countryman. God calls us into formation.

Communication----our next goal area----is a thread of activity than runs throughout our parish life. In any community it is crucial for all members to be aware of what is going on at all levels of its life This year we have increased our presence in the community with splendid articles in the newspapers and lots of posters announcing our various activities. Communication, however, can always be improved and we mean to do that. It is an area that needs every gift that everyone has.......writing, speaking, artwork, conversation. We need to share all the good things that happen here and why being a part of this parish is so important to us. Communities----all communities----grow only when members bring new people into them through personal invitation and by spreading the word in all ways possible. We respond to God’s call through our gifts of communication.

As we become a welcoming church, a hospitable church, we will share our gifts of hospitality. Everyone who walks through the door will be welcomed and made to feel at home. One of my favorite descriptions of hospitality is that of Henri Nouwen from his book, “Reaching Out”. Nouwen wrote:

“Hospitality....means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend... Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place......It is not a method of making our God and our way into the criteria of happiness, but the opening of an opportunity to others to find their God and their way. The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to create....a friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free; free to sing their own songs, speak their own languages, dance their own dances; free also to leave and follow their own vocations. Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the lifestyle of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own.”

Nouwen’s vision of hospitality could happen at worship or at any activity----the pancake dinner, a coffee house, a forum, this celebration. Whenever we are gathered together, God calls us to respond to each other, to welcome each other, to offer the most generous form of hospitality our combined gifts can create.

St. Mark’s fourth goal is to look at new models of church. This goal is one that we have only begun to explore and one that will require courage to consider new ways of reaching out to and communicating with each other---within St. Mark’s as well as with those in the larger community around us. The technology of the 21^st century has much to offer to help us but, at the same time, we will need to merge it with the best of our individual gifts of hospitality. It is a challenge, but one that God calls us to as we consider how best to reach out to a changing world.

Each of these goal areas brings opportunities to respond to God’s call, to use the gifts brought to us. God calls; brings gifts; we respond. My story is almost over. Six words have given birth to many more!

We are here tonight to celebrate our common ministry.....the common ministry of David Grant Smith and the people of St. Mark’s. The Gospel lesson refers to sheep needing a shepherd......an image that has often been used to describe a parish and its pastor. I have trouble with that image. As a child and a teen-ager, my father would draft me to help drive sheep from one place to another. It was a challenging task; sheep are not among the more intelligent animals that God created. I believe they would follow one another over a cliff. I definitely do not want to be thought of as a sheep. In the Gospel passage, however, Jesus says that many laborers are needed: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Being a laborer is to consciously and conscientiously work with other laborers to bring in, share and distribute the harvest. Laborers, ideally, are not like sheep, who though appearing cute and cuddly, are actually capable only of blindly plodding along and grazing, helpless and clueless about where they are going. Laborers have a job to do and know how to go about doing it. They are to bring in the harvest.

David and the people of St. Mark’s: I believe we are ready and willing to become laborers together working in and towards our common ministry---our common harvest. Let us, together, read and live my six-word story: God calls; brings gifts; we respond. Let us, together, help each other write more stories, using all our gifts as we go forth. Let us, together, continue to celebrate. Amen.