Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany [Proper 5], rcl yr a, 2023
Vestry Charge, February 5th, 2023
ISAIAH 58:1-12; PSALM 112:1-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16); MATTHEW 5:13-20
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
seek the welfare of the city
love one another
Welcome to something of an unusual Sunday—one when we aren’t entirely guided by the liturgical calendar. Instead, today we have our Vestry meeting, our Annual General Meeting, so I give the charge today—the chance for me to speak in more general terms about our shared life and ministry. It offers us an opportunity to see the providence of God at work in where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are headed.
I’m going to at least briefly remind us of what I found at work at St. John’s just over four years ago. We had already embarked on a five-year ministry and mission plan, set in place to give the bishop confidence that we could sustain the hire of a new priest. That priest turned out to be me. What I found here was a parish committed to worship as central to who we are, with music as central to worship; and to outreach to the community.
And so I asked us to make this more explicit under two Scriptural rubrics: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness from Psalm 96, and seek the welfare of the city from Jeremiah, part of a longer passage that speaks to the way God cares for his people by asking them to care for strangers: in their welfare you will find your welfare, says God in Jeremiah.
The five-year mission and ministry plan placed some constraints on both these features of our ministry life, largely through an intentional strategy of leveraging our building for income, income that’s been necessary for us to find some financial stability. But the continued commitment to both of these primary features of our shared life can be seen clearly in the reports.
There is one significant challenge that has become apparent, or perhaps more apparent, in my years here. Our building continues to be an opportunity—this is where we host musical events, and where we gather for worship; and it is the hub for a good deal of community work for us and for downtown Kitchener. That is, our space makes possible these two major features of our life together: worship and outreach.
But it’s also a continuing challenge, and from what I can gather, a larger challenge than we thought it would be when we put together the 5-year mission and ministry plan. Partly, while rental income has certainly contributed to our financial position overall, it also costs to have renters; sometimes through spending resources to make a space suitable to a renter; it means more maintenance through higher use; and it certainly has meant a lot of volunteer and administrative hours.
Aside from the ways we share space, the maintenance costs of a building of this vintage are simply high, and some of those costs have been higher than expected, outpacing our ability to raise revenue through rentals and your kind financial stewardship. We are facing a boiler replacement that would wipe out, or come close to wiping out, our reserve funds.
I don’t know what the solution is to a building whose expenses are outpacing our income, and whose costs threaten our reserves. But it is a problem that needs naming—not out of fear, but out of faith. We have been gathered as Christ’s own body for the sake of the world, a church that in worship and in outreach, in the power of the Holy Spirit, does the work asked of us by God. We are already that, and we will continue to be that—obedient to the will of the Father, and an obedience of joy in the Spirit. And we can count on God’s providence as we look at what’s next—doing so with courage, with confidence, and in faith. It is, though, a significant challenge.
There’s another piece of this, though, as we come out of COVID, and as we have come to the end of the five-year mission and ministry plan, and as we come out of all that a bit frizzled and tired. Even as we face some uncertainty, though, I’d like for us to find a way to enjoy the fruits of this work.
The closest thing that captures what I’d like for us is a kind of sabbatical. The sort of sabbatical where we find space for rest; where we allow things to carry on without adjusting things too much, even if we know things aren’t working perfectly; the sort of sabbatical that allows space for imagining and thinking and researching what might be next for us without committing yet to some sort of plan.
As much as we can, let’s enjoy a season in which we don’t need to worry about COVID, and a time when we can carry on with where our Ministry and Mission Plan has landed us, indeed, where God has landed us. A time to enjoy the fruits of that labour. But an enjoyment that makes space for the sort of activity that assesses where we are and where we are headed.
Which brings me to the third feature of our life together that has appeared from time to time in my charges, and that’s the charge to love one another, something else you can find in the reports. That comes from John’s Gospel, where Jesus tells his disciples to love one another as he has loved them. And the way Jesus loves is by offering himself to others in abundance. Because loving one another is to love the world, too, if we are to love one another as Jesus loved the disciples. To love as Jesus loves is to love sacrificially, and with overwhelming abundance.
And there are some ways I am suggesting we do that this coming year, especially in ministry to seniors. May this though be an overflowing abundance of the love given to us in Christ—a sacrificial, costly, but abundant and joyful love.
And so a short charge today. Largely: carry on! Take some time to reflect, without the pressure of coming up with a brand new five-year ministry and mission plan, at least not yet! Let’s take this time though to imagine new and perhaps strange futures for our space here in Kitchener. Where might the Holy One be leading us? What strange hope might we find for our shared space, one that is sustainable for our future?
And yes, on this sabbatical let us find some rest, rest in the love of the Lord, and in the love of others that our Lord’s abundant sacrificial love makes possible.
The Revd Dr Preston Parsons
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.
As our parish musician, he provides both support and leadership so that a variety of parish programs can find musical expression and attract participation. When our handbell choir is in season, he is one of our ringers. At parish dinners, he provides popular piano music for the guests to dine by. For both worship services and concerts, he will rehearse and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists from our congregation on piano, organ, or even accordion.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.