Weekly Reflection, Sunday, September 8, 2019
By: David May, Rector
At the August vestry meeting, members of the vestry took turns answering the question, ‘What is your hope for St. Mary’s Church in this coming year?’ One of the common responses was the hope that the momentum we feel from the new life and new energy God is giving us will continue. This new energy and life is a gift from God. So, before anything else we should say, ‘thank you, God’! But there is an important way that we can each make ourselves available to this gift of new life and cooperate with God’s Spirit so that the momentum we feel may continue. It’s not complicated, I don’t think. We each can offer a simple prayer: Lord of my heart, speak to me and show me how you are calling me to serve my parish and you.
At our Annual Parish Meeting this past January, I wondered aloud about my hunch that St. Mary’s is ‘a sleeping giant’. If that’s true, I see signs that God has roused us. This has everything to do with God’s faithfulness. But I think this has everything to do with members of our parish – both longstanding members and people brand-new among us – finding their call to serve here. You can see it in the way the Spirit is renewing members of our Outreach ministry group. You can feel it with our new St. Mary’s Welcomers ministry and their hope for us all to give a holy and generous welcome to all who come here. You can sense it in the heart of our Adult Christian Formation ministry members who long to show that knowing God is loving God.
The leadership of our parish – both lay and ordained – have their part to play and their ministries to carry out for this new life and momentum to continue, to be sure. But the truth is, where God is leading us into new life – fully awake! – in him, is happening because of all of us together.
So, what is your hope for St. Mary’s Church in this coming year? Ask God to show you how to put your life and your gifts into service for our parish and for God. And then say ‘thank you’ for God – who is always faithful – will surely show you, and give you life fully awake in him.