What is that expression? We make plans, God laughs…?
So as we paid attention to the weather forecast on Thursday and Friday, discussions intensified about what to do about today. You remember today? We were to have inaugurated a new tradition: Welcome Home/Matriculation service shared by church and school and followed by a picnic after? All week we had been paying attention to something called “Tropical Storm Erika” — the news, etc media were hyped up to a frenzy unseen since 2005. Was it coming? Was it going to hit us? At what strength?
We needed to make a decision about today on Friday, when things still looked threatening, since there were several moving parts involved, especially on our school’s part, so we decided to reschedule the “Welcome Home/matriculation service and picnic” aspect of today’s service until September 13. Then we all woke up yesterday to hear that Erika, thankfully, had dissipated, but the dye had already been cast. A few thunderstorms today and facebook lights up with the picture of the overturned lawn chair and the caption “We survived Erika.” Thanks be God it did not become a big storm and of course our prayers are with those in Anguilla, Dominica, and elsewhere who were affected.
But as far as this service, things have a way of working out and I am actually thankful for this smaller gathering today. I can speak more intimately and personally to you today than perhaps I could have if we had been a larger gathering. Intimately and personally about a little of the amazing journey the Lily Foundation, and you, enabled my family and me to take this summer; and intimately and personally about you.
In my last sermon before I began my sabbatical at the end of May I said:
“I dearly hope that each of you will also have time for rest and rejuvenation this summer. Along those lines, please do insist that our senior warden Bob Coulombe and his family take some time off together this summer. Though by canon law he will be in charge of our parish in my absence, please let him know that you will continue to handle things with competence and grace and the church won’t fall apart if he takes some time off also!”
“I also hope that this is a time for growth and new experiences for our parish community. In my absence many of you will take on more leadership responsibilities. Our 2016 stewardship campaign, for example, under the leadership of A.R. Barrington and Michael Fonseca, will largely be formulated in my absence. Much of the planning for the August 30 “Welcome Home” celebration will happen while I’m gone. And I’m delighted that four people have now been commissioned as lay Eucharistic Visitors to take communion to those who are not able to be in church. Thank you, Joyce Harrington, David Hitt, Marilyn Jackson, and Krisan Lamberti!”
“And Rev’d Jo-Ann. While by the canons of the Episcopal Church our senior warden is in charge while the rector is away, we all know the lion’s share of the day-to-day heavy lifting will be done by Rev’d Jo-Ann. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that you couldn’t be left in more capable, loving hands than hers. And I can say that with a “fair” amount of confidence — I have known Rev’d Jo-Ann almost half of my lifetime and in addition to being our assistant rector and my trusted confidante and colleague, she is also one of my very best friends. She loves St. Stephen’s, her work here, and each of you dearly and she will give you her very best. I want you to support her, encourage her, and be there to lend a hand, a heart, and a listening ear. If you see she’s getting a little anxious — tell her. Remind her to breathe, take her out for lunch or dinner and reassure her that, in the words of Julian of Norwich: all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well. Because they shall. I mean they will.”
And all has been well. Exceedly well — I mean exceedly good! Aside from one staff change and a bit of a scramble that it has led to, St. Stephen’s did not just tread water, but moved forward in some bold new ways this summer — all because of you and what you came together to do.
Two new initiatives got underway this summer. Under the leadership and tireless efforts of Daisy Holcombe and Kristin Fonseca we now have a new set of policies and procedures for our office and its management, especially how we handle our finances. These two women, along with Dominic Lamberti and with help from Yery Marrero put in literally hundreds of hours this summer examining, evaluating, and streamlining every aspect of the way we do things around here. I had just one small insight earlier in the week: I completed the log-in process for our Coconut Bank accounts and voila! I could immediately see online and in real-time all of our bank accounts. This is a first in St. Stephen’s history! I look forward to hearing about all the other aspects of the new policies and procedures in the days ahead. Daisy, Kristin, and Dom are also the search committee currently vetting applicants for the parish administrator position and I have every confidence that God will bring us the right person to match the expectations of the policies and procedures we now have in place.
Another new initiative is the formation of a Labyrinth Guild. As his project to become an Eagle Scout, our own Zachary Roncallo, third generation St. Stephen’s parishioner, is spearheading a project to install an open air labyrinth in front of our church building. Daisy Holcombe has been guiding him through some of the steps such as permitting and I’m delighted to hear that our city councilmember is 100% behind the project, understanding that this is a gift St. Stephen’s will be offering to the wider community. Other members of the guild are Rev Jo-Ann, Forrest Jones, Bonell Denton, Russell Corbett, Krisan Lamberti, Julie Moxley, Jenifer Briley, and Bob Coulombe.
Bob Coulombe. What more can I say? He not only held down the fort in my absence, but helped in guiding us forward in some of the ways I’ve already talked about. Did you know that he chaired our staff meetings every week? And did I mention he has a full time law practice and a family? He was always available for support and guidance, he insured that several of our property issues were handled, and all around guided our parish with calm, steady, and forward-looking leadership.
I also know that Rev Jo-Ann did more than the lion’s share this summer. We faced several big pastoral issues and she was there in the thick of all of them. She was the driving force behind the Labyrinth Guild, and was present for you all summer long. Others also jumped in and took on more responsibility, particularly after Anna left us: Robin Lawrie, Sally James, Margaret Long, Nancy Denton, Lois Bailey, Joyce Harrington, and Kitty Morgan.
A.R. Barrington and Mike Fonseca have launched a creative — and we hope fun — stewardship campaign. You have already received information about our Make a Difference! campaign and will be hearing more in the weeks to come. Please do take a look at the video that was in Wednesday’s e-pistle and in the email you got yesterday. It is a wonderful tribute to all that we do here at St. Stephen’s. There will even be a “friendly competition” aspect to this year’s campaign as ministries within the parish will vie to see which attains 100% participation from its participants first. Stay tuned!
I am delighted with the theme of this year’s campaign “Make a Difference!” I learned so much this summer, as you can imagine. One thing that moved me deeply was to hear from groups — NGO’s or “Non-Governmental Organizations” — in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina about what they are doing to help foster reconciliation and peace-making in the aftermath of the ethnic wars of the 1990’s. Their work is not easy — for the most part they are swimming upstream as the official climate in each of the countries still fosters triumpalistic nationalism and ethnic animosity. But these groups persevere — like candles in the darkness.
It was heartening to hear stories of former enemy combatants being brought together to share their stories and come to understand they have more in common than that which separates them. Heartening to hear of young people who yearn for a different narrative, yearn to envision a new future — and of the way these groups are helping them to do so. Helping them to make a difference. Don’t ever extinguish that candle; don’t ever stop believing that even the smallest effort can make a difference. And that feels like so much of what the church does. In the face of so much that is so wrong with our world today, we, the church, follow the absolutely counter-cultural message of Jesus Christ who tells us to be beacons of hope, who tells us to take care of each other. Who tells us not to give up. Who tells us to make a difference.
Processing and sharing what I learned this summer will take a while for me because it was all so enormous. But I do start with this observation. Let me get at it this way:
When we made the decision to postpone the scheduled events for today, I also made the decision to use the readings we would have had today in two weeks. So what to read today? I looked at our Episcopal calendar of saints and tomorrow, August 31, is the feast day of two Celtic saints: Aidan and Cuthbert. Each was part of that Celtic movement that kept Christianity alive during the darkest days of the Dark Ages in Europe. When everything was going to hell in a handbasket — the fall of once mighty empires, brutal warfare, ignorance, hatred, violence, disease — these men and women continued faitfully to follow Jesus Christ, to live out his Gospel imperative, to keep hope alive. They made a difference. They were candles in the darkness. They did not succumb to the prevailing winds of their age. And they preserved for future generations, including our own, this tradition. This faith. This hope. They shown in the darkness. They made a difference.
Presbyterian minister and theologian Frederick Buechner, wrote a novel, Brendan, about another of these Celtic saints — Brendan the Navigator. Brendan’s life included journeys far and wide (oh how I can relate!). And yet the one abiding truth he discovered from all his travels, the one abiding truth he brought back with him to Ireland was this, which he shared in this exchange with his friend Gildas upon his return:
“I’m as crippled as the dark work,” Gildas said.
“if it comes to that, which one of us isn’t, my dear? Brendan answered. The truth of what Brendan said stopped all our mouths. We was cripples, all of us. For a moment or town there was no sound but the bees.
“To lend each other a hand when we’re falling,” Brendan said, “Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”
To lend each other a hand when we’re falling. Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.
Yes.
And perhaps that is the over-arching take-away I bring back from my travels. And because of who we are as a community at St. Stephen’s, I know that each of you believe that, and commit to living that. I know that each of you are here, week in week out, committed to following Jesus Christ who has charged us to make a difference in this world. Who has charged us not to give up, who has charged us to be beacons of hope no matter what the prevailing world around us might look like. Because we can make a difference.
To lend each other a hand when we’re falling. Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end. AMEN.