Friends,

There are a lot of things to hold in tension when doing the business of church.

There’s building community. When we have burger nights, are people actually making an effort to meet new people? If not, what can do to help make those connections? Do people want to get to know new people? I hope so.

Who left a trash can in the kitchen sink? Seriously, I’m not upset in the slightest. I just want to know what happened so we can stop pondering this mystery.

People wonder why I don’t list “sermon” in the reusable bulletin. I wonder why people think I should when it’s pretty clear that’s what’s going on.

The leadership of the Church needs to figure out what we are going to do after Sue Bentley our parish admin retires on April 30th. That punch list needs to get done, and I need to figure out how and when I am going to do that.

I do have the chalices and flagons correctly placed during the Eucharistic prayer on purpose. Maybe I should find a way to do it the way the Bishop commends us to do… as long as it doesn’t bog things down too much.

If you ever feel like you can do something in the pews and think I won’t notice, you are wrong. I sit there and study you throughout the service. While your nose is deep in the bulletin, I yearn to make eye contact with you while we bless the bread and wine. This all sounds creepy, but it’s with the best of intentions. My heart leaps with joy when I see that person who I think may need community sneak in during the lessons. They sit by themselves, and I conspire to fix that. I whisper in someone ear in during the peace, “you should go introduce yourself to that person back there trying to hide.”

Interwoven in the fabric of all these weird little things is our faith.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

Sometimes these little things matter, purely because I know they matter to someone else. We have now been doing this Church thing together for over five years that we can start to see the fruits of our labor. People are connecting. People are finding a home. Friendships are being forged. People are worshipping together. We have also been doing this long enough that we should feel the sting of loss. Of missed opportunities. Whether it is a result of things we’ve done or left undone, or just circumstance, some empty spots in the pews remind of how things could have been different.

I saw someone hiding in the back about a year ago. It was her first time in Church since she was young. We knew each other from the day school as our children were classmates. She came alone. I sent people to her to make her feel welcome as I knew that what she was facing was daunting and I wanted her to feel supported. I hope she felt the support, and if she didn’t, I hope she felt our desire for her to feel supported. Now I know that would be our only opportunity to welcome her into Church. Do not miss the opportunity to introduce yourself on Sunday to someone who looks unfamiliar, because you do not know what they are carrying in with them.

If you are a leader in the Church, one thing I demand is that you step back if room must be made to bring in someone new. It is far easier to do something yourself than to teach a new person. Or what if the new person doesn’t need to be trained, and what if they are excited to share their own ideas? This could ruin your whole rhythm. Consistency can bring comfort, and bringing in a new person can ruin that sense of comfort. I need you to choose the person over consistency every single time. For example: if you are about to tear some pork butts apart at the annual BBQ and someone you don’t recognize shows up to help and there is no room at the table, then move out of the way. Ask their name. Offer yours. Talk about smoked meats. This goes for almost everything at Church. If there is a mistake and we have too many Eucharistic Ministers, then I expect the one with the most tenure to step back.

If you’ve been doing your ministry for more than a few years, you no longer should safeguard your own participation, you should be advocating for the ministry, and that ultimately means considering others above yourself. In the midst of all of this is our faith.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

These things we do matter, because the people that we serve matter. Get to know and care about people. It is a tremendously risky thing to do, but getting out of your seat, and sitting next to someone new could be a life changing experience. Living in this place is our hope that Christ will come again, and we need to be eager to show people this hope.

Blessings,

Nick