It is always a strange thing to be in the middle of turning from one chapter in our life to another. The same is true for a community, such as this church. Resurrection is a young parish, so those changes are clearer than they are for other churches, but that does not always make things easier.
Anxiousness is something that can creep in at these times. That is a natural and understandable thing. It has been a year since we lost a tremendous priest as rector, who was a loving part of this community for a long time. We are in an interim period of time, and we don’t know what the future will hold. Change is difficult. Not knowing what that change will be is even harder.
It is in this time that I am reminded of Jesus’ words in His Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 6. Jesus tells us not to worry, and to “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like these.”
Jesus’ point is that if God looks after these lilies, how much more will God look after us? When we become anxious, that is an opportunity to turn to God. It is our opportunity to trust in God. That is what it means to have faith.
I know what I am asking can be a difficult thing. I too get anxious about many things. I too sometimes struggle to trust in God. The times when we struggle to trust God are the times we really need to sit down and have a conversation with God. That is why I emphasize our relationship with God so much. If we trust in God, we will not fear, and if we struggle to trust in God, we talk with God so that God can slowly and gently change our hearts so that we will trust in the Lord and so that we will no longer have any fear.
Recently someone commented to me how calm I seem to be in the midst of it all. Part of my role is to lead by example, and I have always strived in my ministry to be a non-anxious presence. I hope each and every one of you will strive to do the same because when you are a non-anxious presence, those around you will start to become non-anxious as well.
We shouldn’t forget that our relationship in the church is not just with God, but with each other. One way to be non-anxious is to trust those we serve with as well. Our Senior Warden pointed out last year that we are no longer a smaller, or family-sized, church, but we are a mid-sized church within this Diocese.
That also means the dynamics of this parish are changing as well, as they should and really as they have to. We are no longer in a position where we can afford to have one or two people leading everything. We are big enough that we now need different people with different skill sets leading different ministries in the church. This is the direction we are already moving in, and in many ways this is where we already are.
To be successful as a church, we have to trust one another to do the work God has given us, as individuals, to do. We have to let go of our anxiety and fear and trust one another, just as we trust in the Lord. I can tell you, one of the things I have learned and am most grateful for learning, is how to lean on and trust our staff and lay ministers. We have so many great leaders in this community, and I could not fulfill my role as pastor, priest, and teacher without your service.
All of this, of course, ties into what we are about to do in electing new members of vestry. I want to thank our current vestry and our wardens for their service to this church. I also want to thank those who have been willing to have their names put forward for this election. We have a strong slate of candidates which speaks volumes for where we are as a church.
I say that because all of these candidates who are here serve the church in one capacity or another. That is the kind of person we should have as a vestry candidate, and that is certainly the kind of candidate you should vote for.
Most of all, candidates for vestry need to be people who are willing to listen and work with others. Most of the vestry roles are liaisons to our ministry committees, so they need to listen to the concerns of our ministers and leadership in order to bring them back to the vestry.
Our wardens are similar in that regard. In some churches, the Junior Warden is known as the “People’s Warden”. This is the person who is the bridge between you as individuals and the wider parish. That often takes the role of our relationship to the church building and facilities, but there are times to when that role is also listening to the needs and concerns of the congregation.
We often think of the Senior Warden as the leader of the parish, and in times when there is no rector or clergy that is true. The Senior Warden, in some parishes, is referred to as “The Rector’s Warden”. This is the person who is the bridge between the rector and the congregation, and needs to be a person who is approachable because sometimes it will be easier for people to talk with the Senior Warden first before coming to the rector personally.
Vestry members need to be invested in the life of the church and accessible and approachable for and to everyone. We are blessed with a slate of candidates we cannot go wrong with, no matter the result of the vote. This is a sign of a healthy church, so please continue in this direction. Trust God, trust your fellow lay leaders. Be non-anxious presences to each other. If you feel tired and over-worked, take a step back, and build up new leaders, whether young or even newcomers to the parish, so that we can continue to grow and to be stronger together. We are not alone in our endeavors. We are all one as a church.