Last Sunday after the Epiphany: Transfiguration Sunday
February 11th, 2024: Vestry Sunday
2 KINGS 2:1-12; PSALM 50:1-6; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-6; MARK 9:2-9
Charge 2024
Last year at this time I was caught a bit short. In a good way. I realized that the charge I had given all years previous was roughly the same charge—and that I didn’t have to give that charge anymore.
It is worth reminding ourselves of this, and celebrating the fact that we are able to grow now with a sense of shared foundations about who we are and what we do. We are a downtown parish that values both the arts (especially music) and outreach (especially through acts of mercy). I can’t imagine a better way to express this except through thanksgiving for over a year with Angus as our music director, and for St. John’s Kitchen’s presence with us.
And even though some of us gravitate to one more than the other—for some music, for some outreach—we no longer have a sense of competition with one another. We have been growing more fully into our identity as the body of Christ, a body with many members. And thank God for that; it makes a much more stable platform on which to build.
Last year I also suggested a year of congregational sabbatical as we thought together about what’s next. And it has become increasingly clear that what’s next for us is to revisit our previous work on sustainability—sustainability in our shared life of ministry, and sustainability with regard to finances.
But first: why is sustainability important? Perhaps we can start here. We’ve been sold a false bill of goods, in many ways. We’ve been taught to make the money so we can buy the things. And that this will make us happy. And this way of thinking can impact the way we approach church: find the right church, get your Sunday vitamins, and then we can survive the week.
Now there has been times in my life when this has been absolutely true. (There are reasons why people run away to do a PhD in England.) I was burnt out, despairing and dejected, and I needed rest; and the simple worship of God was of great help to me. And Jesus did regularly leave the crowds to go to the mountain to pray. So if this is where you are: welcome, you are in the company of Jesus.
There are other Christian wisdoms though for other times in life. One is that when we are able to both receive and give, we are most fulfilled in life. This is to be in the company of Jesus in another way. When we look to Jesus, we find that above all, he is the one for others, offering himself for the sake of others; as our lives are oriented by Christ for others, we find an abiding sense of joy. And by the Holy Spirit, as we die and rise, we come to know the power of life in Christ.
And this is why we would spend our efforts on sustainability. Because this would be a way of offering ourselves for the sake of others, in this case, to the generations that will follow us. Sustainability is, in part, about keeping our community healthy for our sake; and, sustainability is about leaving a legacy of healthiness for the sake of those who come after us. This is what I called, in my Vestry report “thinking and acting generationally.”
It’s important to say that this does not mean neglecting anyone now. We continue to care for one another, from youngest to oldest; we continue to care for real needs in downtown Kitchener in the present. And we do this as the body of Christ, one body with many members offering ourselves to one another; I might have oversight, with someone else being the point person for a ministry; I’m deeply thankful for things like a Visitor’s ministry, often going into places I’m not able to go. Our ministry with seniors is developing in this way— with little more than a light touch of oversight from me. Children’s ministry is also developing this way—it will be led by others.
And this is just us being the church, the body of Christ, one body with many members, offering ourselves to one another. I am one member with special responsibilities; and you are a member, with your own calling. And we work together to care for others and one another. This is a way of keeping ministry vibrant, healthy, sustainable, and above all faithful to our Lord.
But there are other kinds of sustainability that we will need to attend to. Your stewardship is extremely important. Your time and talent, to be sure. But your financial contributions too. We will continue to ask you to give according to two things: according to your income—that is, the more you make, the more you can give. One benchmark is a tithe of 10%, but that’s not set in stone even in Scripture. But if God has blessed you financially, I would invite you to share that blessing with others. More importantly, we ask you to give out of a sense of gratitude. The Holy Spirit has taken up a place in your heart; this is most evident because you are here. Even on Vestry Sunday.
You receive here things which you cannot find elsewhere, unless you are in another church: and that is the Word of Life proclaimed in Scripture and preaching, and the Medicine of Immortality in the sacrament. What else could we be—that God has led you here, that God has brought us together as a community—but grateful? And we do ask you to give accordingly.
There is another kind of financial sustainability beyond your financial contributions to our life together. I almost hesitate to say it—but I do think it’s time to draw up a new five-year plan. A new five-year plan will do a number of things: it will help keep us on track with some of the goals identified in our reports, including my own; it will help keep us on track with the work we are beginning to do on the relation between our building and our ministry in a time when our building is becoming increasingly costly, and increasingly unpredictably costly.
I’m going to end with two things. First: thank you for giving me the opportunity for a sabbatical. I could use some rest after a turbulent five years. I also need the time in order to sort some things out for myself, including what it means to be a priest, a rector, to be a person in pain.
Lastly: I bumped into the mayor this week while out for lunch. And Berry was praising us, praising who we are and what we do. Now Berry does like to say nice things—but I don’t think he’s disingenuous. We don’t have to satisfy the Mayor in what we do either. But I say this because it’s important for you to know. We are doing good things, out of love, for this city—both musically and in acts of mercy. Be encouraged by this (even when St. John’s Kitchen community members trample on the greenery).
“Lux in Tenebris Lucet” is our motto: the light shines in the darkness—the light of Christ dispels the darkness of such things as despair and loneliness. By God’s grace, and by the Spirit moving in our hearts, we bear this light; and people can see it. And by God’s grace, and the Spirit moving in our hearts, may we bear this light for generations to come.