Rev Shawn's Sermon for Eugenia's 121 Anniversary:
Too often, we focus on
the negatives and what we lack rather than what we have … our readings this
morning have request for prayer for those in places of authority and power, the
parable of the unjust manager from Jesus and lament from Jeremiah seeking a Balm
in Gilead … balm, a substance that brings healing and comfort to a wound … and
a lament – that powerful tradition of prayer that names the harsh reality,
while standing firmly grounded in the Holy Presence of God, knowing full well
that God is with us even in the face of the negatives and the challenges …
One of our commentaries
for today notes: “the problem is, we often feel overwhelmed and do not know
where to start. This is especially true when it comes to the brokenness … we
wonder if there is anything we can possibly do” … BUT … it goes to note: “to
long for healing means to live in hope. It is a beginning …”
To long for healing is
to live in HOPE … Hope, is as American Theologian Jim Wallis likes to point out
- believing inspite of the evidence and watching the evidence change … Hope is
knowing God is with us …
So, today, 121 years on
as a Church and a congregation, awash in challenges and struggles – where do we
find our hope?
How do we stand on our
anniversary Sunday and not only feel hopeful, but live in a hopefilled way?
Where do we draw our
hope from ?
How about all around
us?
I set out with a
challenge – to list 121 things about us as a Church community that we do and
are and give thanks for, but 121 things that give us Hope and show the world we
are alive and well and still sharing our lives and faith … (I didn’t quite make
it … not because there aren’t 121 things to be thankful for – things that make
us hopeful, but because as I compiled my list I started realizing how oriented
backwards that list really is …)
So, I
started by noting:
1. We have a beautiful building
2. We are a small buy dedicated congregation
3. Our music
4. The prayer circle
5. Men’s coffee
6. The women’s group
7. The annual pancake breakfast
8. The yard sale
9. Coffee and goodies after church once a month
10.
The Xmas pot luck
11.
Our space for community
groups
12.
Our commitment to the
food bank
13.
Our involvement in the
community
14.
Our easter morning
sunrise service
15.
Our easter breakfast
16.
Our Christmas services
17.
Our observance of
November 11th at the cenotaph
18.
Our Pork dinner
19.
Our Sunday school –
past AND present
20.
Our volunteers
21.
Our musicians
22.
Our stuff – the books,
tables, chairs and the things we use regularly in our outreach
23.
Each other …
And it was at this
point I started thinking about the things not only whisper HOPE today, but that
are the very embodiment of HOPE.
I quickly got to 23 …
there are more.
If each of us started
listing the things we can think of, the list would grow and grow and grow … and
that my friends is the very essence of HOPE … being able to frame the world
with things – people, items, places and most importantly – relationships and
interconnections – that that say boldly and with faith – we can and we do make
a difference
The world is a better
place for our presence
The challenge in the
Church today, is that we’ve stopped believing that. We’ve stopped seeing that
we do make a difference, and we’ve convinced ourselves that the world doesn’t
care if we live or die as a community … but as we transition into whatever we
are becoming – and as a church, we are most definitely in a time of transition
and change – the old ways of being and doing church are waning, and something
new is looming … we are being called to be part of birthing or delivering this
new entity … as we make this transition, it gives us the opportunity to
seriously consider the core values of who we are and what we are about and we
will build with our lists in the future.
Likely the most
important piece of who we are and what we are about as a Church – past, present
and future – are the connections and relationships that we forge through our
interactions and our faith … our dinners and services and outreach activities
will ebb and flow, and we will lose interest and try new things, but the
constant is and will be US – you and I – the people …
In modern theology it
is drilled in our head that the church is NOT the building nor the stuff – the
Church is the gathering of people - and even that is a broad definition … if
you ask most church people, their definition of Church includes things like
worship, a building, and many of the things that may or may not be important in
the future …
What if … what if, as
we move forward into our next 121 years, instead of focusing on Sunday morning
worship, our building and the stuff that we’ve taken to be part of our working
definition of Church, we instead allow the things that we do well – the things
that are stirrings perhaps of where we are meant to be … we allow those things
to dominate our life and ministry.
What if … we let go of
our buildings and dare to dream of being Church in new ways.
What if … we let go of
our services and instead focus on the small groups – the mens’ coffee, the
womens’ group, the knitting group, the prayer circle, and other gatherings as
our main ministry – using those times as places to worship and fellowship and
reach out into the world by being present to our community?
What if … we dare to
let go and with prayer, reflection AND faith boldly step out that door this
morning open to the call of the Spirit and having the guts to follow wherever
it may lead ?
It starts with prayer …
prayer for each other, prayer for our community, prayer for the work we have to
do … prayer that calls on God to be present in our midst as we seek to discern
where we are to go, and what we are to be about … prayer for courageous
openness that builds relationships in our community and enhances and encourages
the interconnectedness that has kept us alive and well for 12 decades …
I’d like to think that
when the call went out over a Century ago to bring sparkly stones for the
foundation of this building, the men, women and children who dug around in
their fields and yards and in the bush around Eugenia, had a dream of a Church
that generations later would be the hub for their community – not a building that
is used once a week for an hour or so, but of a gathering of people IN A
BUILDING that was present to the community around them. A place of fellowship,
a place of belonging, a place that welcomes one and all, and was a presence in
life’s ups and downs …
We ARE that, if we dare
to dream and dare to believe.
Our financial crunch
will not suddenly disappear, and our problems and challenges will not just go
away – but if we take seriously that dream of presence – that HOPE embodied and
shared across the decades, we can start to be something different … something
new … something that not only speaks eloquently (and often) about the
Resurrection, but instead embodies it and more importantly - LIVES it …
We can focus on what
has been and continue to wring our hands in worry as things seem to fail … or
we can embrace our hope and boldy dare to embrace the future in the same way a
dedicated group of people did 122 plus years ago when they saw HUGE and
hopefilled potential here in Eugenia, and gathered their sparkly rocks and
build themselves and US a beautiful little church to call home … let us this
gift to build and grow the Church for our community and our world … let us
begin with dreams and prayer and the knowledge that God is with us now and
always … thanks be to God - Let us pray …
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