Friends,

Right now, all I can think about is confirmation, Lent, and the Bishop’s visit on March 30th. I think this is understandable, considering I am directly responsible for those things, and I believe this is our big chance to bridge the gap between the church and the diocese, we can set ourselves up for prolonged growth, blah blah blah. Though my focus is understandable, the Church is not all about me and when I get tunnel vision like this the wonderful things happening around me can become muted.

Tons of great stuff happens here without my involvement whatsoever. To be honest, I am shamefully disconnected to our outreach program, and I just saw pictures of our new members cooking meals for the hypothermia shelter. I am not there, and the ministry is thriving under the leadership of Sue Webber and the rest of the committee. Much in the same way, my time has been severely limited lately and I have not been able to make visits to the degree that I would like. Our Community of Hope pastoral team has taken on the mantel with gusto, and have been visiting people that are in need, and I have a suspicion more visits are happening now than when I was able to do more. Other ministries do incredible work within our walls, and the Church is not even officially involved. I know we host an AA group, and I have a suspicion, that like most similar groups, they facilitate the most sacred and honest moments that happen in Church all week, and I do not know the name of a single member.

It is not about me; regardless of my triumphs or failures, there will be great ministry here at St. Luke’s, and I thought I would take a moment to tell you about one in particular. I am going to mess up on some on the minor details, but I know I have the heart of the matter correct. Pawfectly Delicious is a non-profit that is operated by adults of vastly different abilities, and you have likely seen their treats at the Saturday Farmers Market or over at Nature’s Nibbles and other places. From my perspective, I can tell when they first arrive on Tuesdays because my dog goes nuts. Rev. Vanilla Bean is a pit-mix who works at St. Luke’s every Tuesday and Wednesday, and she is absurdly well behaved, until she sees them.

The Pawfectly Delicious workers start coming in around 10:30, wearing their uniforms, and they love giving Rev. Vanilla Bean treats, and this normally obsessively obedient dog turns into an escape artist. Several times now, I went to leave for lunch at noon and went to grab the dog, and realized she had escaped an hour prior to visit with each worker begging for broken pieces of their dog treats up in the parish hall. They occupy the kitchen side of the hall, and often work while young children in our day school have “movement” class in the adjoining space that is out of this world wholesome and adorable. Being in that space on those mornings is a sacred thing.

Even though I am sort of the CEO of St. Luke’s, I cannot keep up with all of the wonderful ministry that happens within our walls. It is in moments like this that I realize that the worst thing I could do is try to control even a fraction of our ministry, because the Church isn’t and it shouldn’t be about me. I need to be involved, make sure policies are followed, and I am still playing catch up on knowing how things run on the vestry and in the office, but as far as control goes, sometimes it’s best to sit back and be thankful for what is. It is liberating to know that even if confirmation classes bomb and the Bishop’s visit is a disaster, Pawfectly Delicious will still make our Church smell like ginger every Tuesday and Thursday, and for them that smells like love and community.

The scary and wonderful news is that it is not about you. In Matthew 6:26-34 Jesus teaches us that God takes care of sparrows despite the fact that they don’t make or fill barns with food. In the same way, God clothes flowers more beautiful than Kings, and all the flowers do is grow. There are things that we actually must do, but there are many more things that we put on ourselves that we think are a must, but they are just nice aspirations or illusions of control.

I have every reason to think confirmation is going to be great, that our Lenten Burger Nights will be joyous and meaningful, and that the Bishop will see our spirit shining through on the 30th, but I should not confuse these things as a litmus test for the health of the Church or the efficacy of my ministry. In seasons such as this, resist the temptation of thinking that it is all on you, because it isn’t. We can strive, but when we strive and fail, rest assured that like the sparrow and the lilies, we will be just fine. If you need reassurance, come hang out with Rev. Vanilla Bean and me one Tuesday and smell the ginger.

Blessings,

Nick

If you want to know more check out: https://www.pawfectlydelicious.org