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In some ways, my speaking to
you this morning seems a bit anti-climatic after what I thought (and
as so many of you have commented to me) was such a positive gathering
when we had our last Town Meeting in late January.
Annual Parish Meeting – Good
Shepherd Sunday. 2008
Rector’s Address
In some ways, my speaking to
you this morning seems a bit anti-climatic after what I thought (and
as so many of you have commented to me) was such a positive gathering
when we had our last Town Meeting in late January.
If you remember, that Town
meeting followed the retreat your Vestry made at Villa Maria a few weeks
before where God the Holy Spirit led us to craft the Vision Statement
that now guides our common life here at The Good Shepherd. I continue
to rejoice in that statement and am inspired more and more every time
I read it because it defines us so well in terms of our past and present,
and speaks with confidence about our future.
At the same Town Meeting, I
said that Rita and I had come to the decision (and this was a decision
owned by the Vestry as well) that we and this parish family could no
longer in any way be hostages to our unresolved legal situation. In
no way did this mean that we nor the Vestry has lost confidence and
commitment to what was initiated six years ago, and that we were backing
away from what will eventually unfold in the Court; but that the time
had come for us to get on with things here, and trust more intentionally
that in the Providence of God whatever the outcome, the life and witness
of this parish would continue and prosper.
When I shared this with you
who were here for that January Town Meeting, there was nearly an audible
sigh of relief in this Great Hall. Your body language and facial expressions
reflected freedom from what had in many ways cast a pall over this parish
for a period of six years.
During the same span of time
when there had been a pall of anxiety, concern, and inertia, we have
all known the power and protection of God, our own spiritual lives deepening,
and our unity as a family increasing; but along with those very good
things authored and given by God was the elephant in the room, being
the question, “What is going to happen to us?”
We’re beyond that because
God has touched our hearts to know that whatever happens to us will
be for our good and His glory if we trust in Him. So in this position
of trust, we have gotten on with things here, and many of those things
have been happening in recent days. More on that later.
I said in my address at the
January Town Meeting that the time had come for all of you to face the
reality that the Episcopal Church could not be reformed in our life
times. We have seen it as an institution in a state of rebellion against
the Gospel and the Catholic religion for many decades, and the rebellion
has only accelerated and intensified in recent months and years. Our
corporate task is to be faithful and growing Christians in the Anglican
Catholic tradition to which we all have been led at different times
and in different ways, all landing here in this place which defies an
adequate definition of who we are and what we are. We know that denominations
mean less and less (Thanks be to God!); that when we stand before the
great Judgment seat on the Last Day that being an Episcopalian will
not be part of the criteria for a seat at the heavenly banquet table
(in fact, it could be a disqualifier!); that Our Lord prayed for the
unity of all who believed in Him; that our vocation is to fight the
good fight against the culture of death, and the advance of radical
Islam; and that we are here today because of a vast company of saints
and martyrs who put Christ above their fears and anxieties. We are the
inheritors of their witness and endurance.
Not only is the Episcopal Church
(the church in which I came to know Christ and was called to the ordained
ministry) an adulteress in her union with Christ, but the Anglican Communion
has imploded, and devolved to a point of not being a Communion. How
else can one interpret Archbishops who represent entire Provinces of
clergy and laity declining the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation
to gather for the once every ten year Lambeth Conference scheduled for
July? Anglicans who have been shaped from the English heritage of form
and etiquette, and who as churchmen have been masters of compromise,
have come to the point of conscience which prevents them from being
with each other; and more seriously than that, cannot receive Communion
with each other because Christians are to be with one another for Christian
meetings and break bread together because of a common Christian religion,
which so very sadly is the not the case in a Communion which is not
a Communion because there exist two religions – the revealed religion
of historic Christianity, and the religion of the age determined by
the majority vote of people who have rejected what was entrusted to
them to guard and pass on, a religion that they are determined to ram
down others’ throats with no prisoners taken. It really is a scorched
earth policy that who among us ever thought we would see?
Back to Good Shepherd. I am
not so foolish or proud to think that we hold the cards for the future
of the Church. But God has given me the wisdom to know that what we
do and decide here shapes and affects the Church in her Gospel witness.
Many people throughout the world look to this parish for inspiration
and guidance. It is quite a heavy and challenging position that God
chose for us. Jesus said, “To him who has been given much, much is
required.” Much IS required of you and me. That will not change, I
am quite certain, which is the reason why we must all play our part
with passion and resolve. This is why prayer to God that we always be
in sync with Him must come daily from our lips.
This is the nineteenth Annual
Parish Meeting at which I preside as Rector. I say every year, and
my sentiment in saying this increases every year, and it is that I am
very grateful for every one of you who help in so many areas of our
parish life and ministries. I watch you and pray for you as you give
yourselves to Christian service- some of this service is highly visible
and known by all, and others of a kind where only you, I, and God know
what you’re doing. I attempt to consistently express my appreciation,
but please forgive me if I have failed in any way. You can certainly
appreciate that a Rector of a church like this has many things to do
and stay on top of (as well as episcopal care for military chaplains
and priests and parishes in the UK). There are times when I need to
have tunnel vision for a time and a season – be it for a pastoral
crisis, the litigation that demands my attention, a staff issue, etc.
I do want to quote from I wrote
in the January Rod and Staff –
“Several months ago [actually
it was at last year’s Annual Parish Meeting]. I asked Jay Oberdorf
to do a careful analysis of Good Shepherd leaving no stone unturned
– finances, properties, maintenance, resources, etc. Jay has devoted
and continues to devote countless hours to this task, and I am seeing
the results of his hard work in bringing better order and planning in
a myriad of areas.
Working alongside Jay in Theresa
Smith[ elected Accounting Warden by the Vestry in February] who was
recruited by Jay to offer her many years of experience and expertise
in the world of banking and finance.
And then there is Martha Eischen,
who is no stranger to any of you, bringing her years of experience and
expertise in the business world to us in working on a chart of accounts
and a new filing system.”
This blessed trinity of lay
persons deserves our heartfelt thanks. And let me briefly say that beyond
this trinity of a man and two women, is a woman who never ceases to
amaze me in her dedication and hard work who has been such a welcome
addition to the staff – Pat Conroy, our Sexton. Good Shepherd having
a female Sexton! What’s next?
We are blessed with a Curate,
a Parish Secretary, and an Organist/Choirmaster who are loyal and dedicated.
There are no staff problems. Praise God!
Before I close this address,
I will also say that my wife, Rita, continues to grace my life and your
lives through in our vocation as a clergyman’s spouse in situations
and challenges of which you are aware, but even more so in situations
and challenges of which you aren’t aware.
Our present and future is in
God’s hands, not in ours. We are to be servants who say we are only
doing our duty to a loving, merciful, and grace-bestowing God. I recommit
myself to do all that I can to serve Him with the time, talent, and
treasure that He has given
me. I ask that you do the same.
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