St. Peter's in Two Parts

This is a sermon in two parts, both about St. Peter’s. In Part I you’ll hear the highlights of my annual report, which is not about me but about us partnering with God in God’s work. You’ll get a copy of the report at the Annual Meeting, so you might snooze through this part and read it later. Wake up for Part II, though, for you’ll hear about how our parish compares with those contentious Christians in Corinth.

By God’s grace we have done a lot this year at St. Peter’s! Regular worship is what nourishes us and knits us together as a Christian community. So, as your priest in charge, I preside at the Eucharist every Sunday, except when I am on vacation, and at least one weekday. In our weekday Eucharists, we use an informal style and the Great Thanksgiving from Enriching Our Worship. Last year we celebrated our patronal festival, the Confession of St Peter, though, for different reasons, not this year. During Holy Week we offered Tenebrae, Maundy Thursday with foot-washing, and a contemplative Good Friday service. We welcomed Bishop Tom Breidenthal in October. On the last Sunday in Advent, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas pageant that included a dozen children.

As your priest, I also conducted special services, including a memorial for Wanda Parsons and other burials. I’m a volunteer chaplain at Holzer Medical Center, where I make rounds one morning a month and attend periodic continuing education sessions. I visit parishioners at home or in the hospital. I also trained two more Eucharistic ministers to bring communion on Sundays to the housebound. I meet monthly for breakfast with the clergy of our Deanery. Since last August two other Episcopal priests and two Lutheran pastors and I, all serving along the Ohio River, have been meeting to share ministry. In August I started the Wellstreams program for training as a spiritual director. Spiritual companioning is an ancient ministry of the church, and meeting regularly with a spiritual director or companion is an excellent avenue for spiritual growth.

Continuing formation, for children and adults is as important to the health of the parish as worship is. This year we created a separate Sunday school group for older children. Several children also serve as acolytes. A youth group has begun, with activities planned for children ten and older. Children are hosting the upcoming Souper Bowl, and are beginning to renovate the church’s old youth group room. For adult formation, last Lent the weekday Eucharist was followed by discussion of Your Faith Your Life. Some of you joined Erin and Paul Polcyn, who were preparing for confirmation. Erin and Paul were confirmed at a regional confirmation held at Good Shepherd Athens on May 5th. During Easter tide the adult formation class studied an introduction to Christian spirituality.

The parish undertook significant renovation this past year. If you haven’t seen the newly refurbished nursery and Sunday school rooms, go back and look at them. Then peek into the conference room, which was completely cleaned out, repainted, and redecorated. The prayer room was also cleaned, repainted, and given new carpet. And we now have our own icon! A lovely icon of St. Anna, traditionally the mother of Mary, hangs in the prayer room, along with plaques recognizing our members of the Society of St. Simeon and St. Anna. We now have comfortable and welcoming spaces for meetings, classes, prayer, and spiritual direction.

We continued our participation in the Common Ministry project, joining with five other parishes in the diocese in order to intentionally explore our mission here. A team composed of Carolyn Anderson, Christina Cogar, Jon Krastes, Bob Morris, and I, attended five meetings at the Procter Center in 2012. India Cullen also joined the team in the fall. The Common Ministry project continues through May.

Despite our size we are God’s instruments in service to our neighbors. Stay one Sunday for Loaves and Fishes, always the last Sunday of the month. We put out tablecloths, silverware, china, and table decorations. We also put out prayer request cards and pray for the requests in the weekday Eucharist. You may be surprised at how many people sit down to eat with us – nowadays a minimum of 75, sometimes as many as 90. Fifty meals go next door to residents of First Holzer apartments, and over two hundred meals are taken away, most by people who have come in to eat. We continue to distribute diapers at the Lutheran Social Services mobile food pantry, along with clothes sent to us by a parish on Long Island. You generously contribute to the Snack Pack program, the Outreach Center, and Souper Bowl Sunday. And we continue to host a number of different “anonymous” groups in our downstairs parish hall.

We may feel like a traditional parish, but we are also part of the 21st century. We have a parish web site maintained by a parishioner at St. Mary’s Hillsboro. We have a Facebook page, now seen by over one hundred people. I send out a weekly e-mail newsletter. Every Sunday evening I post my sermons on a blog, Word for Us.

O.K., if you’ve been snoozing, it’s time to wake up. We’ve done a lot as a parish. We’re not like those contentious Christians in Corinth, are we? You just heard some more of Paul’s first letter to them. Paul’s letter actually deals with very real issues facing a particular community that was diverse in ethnicity, gender, class, and whether they were slaves or free. Some of them thought they were superior to others because of their spiritual gifts. In the part before today’s reading, Paul reminded them that the Spirit gives gifts to whomever the Spirit chooses, for the purpose of building up the Christian community. No gift was superior to any other. To underscore his point, he compared the Christian community to the human body. The human body contains a variety of limbs and organs, all different but all very much needed. In the same way, the members of a Christian community play a variety of roles, all different, but all vitally needed.

And that’s where you come in. As a parish we accomplished a lot in 2012. But to continue to do God’s work in 2013, we need all of you, working together. As those baptized into Christ, we too all received gifts from the Holy Spirit. And we all have work to do in this community. If you are sitting up and breathing, you have a role to play! None of us can do everything, not even the priest. Yet all of us were gifted by the Holy Spirit to do the work that God has given us.

What is that work? All of us must be generous with our resources – that goes without saying. Some of us were called to lead worship. Only the priest can read the Gospel, preside at the Eucharist, pronounce absolution, and give a blessing. But others can read the lessons, serve the chalice, and, when trained, preach. Some must lead the parish in education, both of children and adults. Some are called to promote fellowship, through organizing potlucks, picnics, youth outings, and other social gatherings. Some are called to proclaim the good news and invite their friends, neighbors, or relatives into the fellowship of Christ’s body. Some are called to offer pastoral care to others: providing meals when needed, visiting the sick and the shut-ins, remembering those in prison, or sending out birthday cards.

Some of called to service within the parish: Altar Guild members, junior warden, and treasurer. Some are called to spur us to mission, to organize and work in the diaper ministry and Loaves and Fishes, and to collect food for the Outreach Center and Snack Pack program. Some draw our attention to wider issues. They encourage us to ask why people are hungry, why people can’t afford diapers, or how we can be better stewards of the earth. Some remind us of the ties we have to other Christian bodies and encourage ecumenical efforts. Some are called to pray for others. And some are called to what I call a ministry of witness, to work for the kingdom simply by sitting – in the pew week after week. They cheer up the priest and they encourage others who see their loyalty to God. David Leininger tells the story of a man who came to worship week after week without fail, even though he was profoundly deaf and could not hear what was happening. Finally, the pastor asked him why he came, when surely he wasn’t getting much out of the service. The man replied, “I just want to show the world whose side I’m on.” That is as important a role as any other!

My friends, you are all part of the body, and you have all been called to this place by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit needs every one of you to carry out God’s plan in this place. Don’t think the body doesn’t need you! Everyone matters in this place: babies, children, parents, those actively employed, retirees, and even the disabled. Don’t amputate the body. Don’t sit back and let others play their roles without you. The Holy Spirit has called you and endowed you with a unique set of gifts and talents. Accept your gifts!