This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church - July 28, 2010

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This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church.

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"Are you a Samaritan?" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, July 11, 2010

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Luke 10.25-39

As many of you know, two Sundays ago, I was in Haiti visiting our partner parish, St. Etienne. Moments before the service began; some of the parish leaders asked me to preach. The lay leaders brought me the French Bible with the passage of scripture marked off. Not being a French speaker, I was anxiously trying to determine what the lesson for the day was. As I scanned the passage for a clue, I noticed a word that, although it had a different ending, obviously was Samaritan. I let out a sigh of relief. The Good Samaritan is one of those stories that transcends our human condition and speaks, in powerful ways, to our call as Christians.

Haiti Report - June 2010

Haiti Report from the Rev. Kurt Gerhard, D.Min.

I was in Haiti for four days last week. The following is a report on my experiences there and with St. Etienne, our partner parish. The situation in Haiti is desperate. A couple of things that point to this desperation are the unsanitary conditions throughout the country and the devastated nature of the infrastructure (roads and buildings). Due to the loss of structures, many people live in tents, which are in what used to be parks, in front of collapsed homes, and even in the median of the highway.

Goals of St. Patrick's

The Vestry of St. Patrick's met in retreat in May of 2010 to discuss the goals of the upcoming year. We focused on five primary goals that are described below. There are many other priorities that face St. Patrick's in the near future. 
Goal #1 - Getting more involved in the ministry of St. Patrick's

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Romans 12.1-8)

Last week, I reported to you about the outcomes of the vestry retreat. Over the next several weeks, I will describe in more detail each of the goals of your vestry. Although we did not prioritize the list, I’m going to begin by addressing the goal of getting the congregation more involved in the work and ministry of St. Patrick’s. It is easy to step back after a wonderful Celebration of New Ministry expecting that the clergy and staff of the church will get things done and that your role is to enjoy the great programs of the church. Although easy, it is not what Christians are called to do. The passage above from Paul’s Letter to the Romans describes a responsibility to give based upon the gifts one is given. There are many things that you can do to help lead this parish and to make the ministry of this place much stronger. The following is an abridged list of ministries at St. Patrick’s that exist or will soon exist. I hope that you will take some time to evaluate where you can serve God through the ministry of this parish.

• Altar Guild
• Acolyte/Server
• Eucharistic Minister
• Greeter
• Usher
• Reader
• Hospitality
• New Member Welcome
• Caregivers
• Social Concerns
• Sunday School teaching
• Youth Group
• Flower Guild
• Prayer Team
• Choir
• Jubilate Deo (3-6 grade)
• Cambiata (7-9 grade)
• Cantoris (high school and adult)
• Stewardship
• Vestry (leadership council)

            This is an important goal for this next year because without active involvement, the church ceases to be a symbiotic institution of Christian ministry. Your vestry has pointed to a few specific plans to further develop participation at St. Patrick’s. (1) Develop ministry mentors to share experience insights to other ministers. (2) Ensure that ministries are not the responsibility of one person into perpetuity. In other words, the vestry wants to broaden the experts in each ministry.

  

“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12.48)

            With the many gifts and blessings in this community, a great bounty is demanded of us. Choosing to take on a new ministry, doing something that makes you uncomfortable, is a spiritual responsibility. What are you doing? If you are interested in the ministries listed above or other ministries of St. Patrick’s, please let me know. Your gift of time and talent through participation in ministry will help fulfill the mission of St. Patrick’s. 

Goal #2 - Increase the Visibility of St. Patrick's
I am going to describe the goal of increasing the profile of St. Patrick’s in the community.  

‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28.19-20)

The above verses conclude the Gospel of Matthew and, for me, express the mission of our church. I chose these words to be read at St. Patrick’s Celebration of New Ministry because they really set a blueprint for one of our primary goals of this parish, to spread the word of God. I have been an Episcopalian all of my life, so I know that it doesn’t come naturally for Episcopalians to talk about faith, promote the church, and invite new members.

Your vestry wants to increase the visibility of St. Patrick’s in the Palisades and to those seeking a new church home. Some of their ideas for the upcoming year are: 1) Getting involved in community organizations/activities/service opportunities like the Palisades Village, a booth at the Farmer’s Market, adopting a MacArthur median; 2) Market our community through the Northwest Current, and a redesigned website, and doing a better job at letting people in our community know what we have to offer; 3) Improve hospitality by delivering welcome baskets to new home owners, and by encouraging members to bring a friend (or friends) to church. These are just a few of the many ideas we brainstormed at the retreat. Please pass on other idea you may have.

These great ideas need leaders to help make them possible. If you want to share your marketing, hospitality, or organizing skills to two committees, “Communications/Marketing” and “Welcoming/Hospitality,” please let a member of the clergy or staff, or a member of your vestry know.

The goal of increasing our visibility in the community depends greatly upon you sharing the St. Patrick’s experience with those you know. St. Patrick’s is an extremely welcoming place. Hospitality is one of our gifts. Our task is to let people know that we are here so that we can welcome them into our lives. 

Goal #3 - Increasing Membership and Stewardship

Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14.16-21)

The above is one of Jesus’ well-known miracles, the feeding of the five thousand. It is found in all four of the gospel accounts. It speaks of the power of scarcity in the face of great need and want. We, and by we I mean humans, often find ourselves thinking that the problems and issues are too big and the solutions are too difficult, if not impossible.

One of the major issues confronting this parish is that we don’t have enough income to cover our expenses. Annual pledges from parishioners account for over 80% of the operating income of St. Patrick’s. That high percentage means that when giving goes down, we have to cut expenses. This Spring, St. Patrick’s made pleas to parishioners to increase their pledges to help cover our expenses knowing that to cut people or programs would be a step back in realizing our mission. We are in a position where it seems like there just isn’t enough.

Jesus told the disciples to not turn around but instead look ahead. Gather the available food because from scarcity comes abundance. Your vestry is looking ahead to increasing our stewardship. Tad Anderson and Tricia Duncan will be sharing the leadership of the Stewardship Committee so ably led in the past by Charlie Johnson IV. They will call together a large group of volunteers to help with their work this coming Fall.

The stewardship season will be much shorter than in the past. It will begin in earnest at the end of September and conclude on All Saints Sunday (November 7). On All Saints Day, all the pledges of the parish will be brought forward and blessed at the altar. The ultimate goal is to know what our pledges for 2011 will be so that we can faithfully plan to use them in the ministry of the church. Making sure that this is done before the beginning of 2011 will allow you to prayerfully plan your giving for the upcoming year. 

Goal #4 - Get to know each other better

“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15.7)

I have chaperoned groups of young people on rope challenge courses. The goal of these activities is to foster a deeper team approach to problem solving. On one such occasion, I was paired with a small group of sixth graders. One of our first exercises was the trust fall. The facilitator taught a process that would ensure that if one person fell backward, the other person could catch them. I was paired with a twelve-year old who was more than willing to fall backward when I was there to catch him. Then, we switched places.  I was asked to fall backward and let him catch me.

I tell this story to set in context one of the vestry goals for this coming year. We hope the people of St. Patrick’s become better acquainted. It is more than sitting next to someone at Sunday worship or reading a nametag (although that is a good start). We want to instill within our community a deeper sense of familiarity, which at its heart is about trust. In order to do that, we must welcome people where they are and encourage everyone to share their story and discern how we can work together in ministry.

 “The excessive privatism of our time is only a misguided effort to preserve values which are threatened by the collapse of our public life.”[1]

Parker Palmer’s book quoted above addresses this issue in church life. The length of this article is not sufficient to address all that he proposes, but at its essence, he encourages people to build a public dialogue and to avoid placing judgments on the conversation that ensues. Share openly and be willing and able to listen openly in return.  And by doing this people grow in the trust necessary to build truly deeper relationships.

Letting ourselves be open is not a natural process for many of us. We hope to open our stories through written biographies in the Limerick, through small group dinner groups (look for more gathering dinners in July), several spiritual journeys small groups facilitated by clergy members (an adult education opportunity in the fall to reflect on and discuss our spiritual journeys), and social gatherings around interests (see information about movie nights).

So there I was, a six-foot tall man considering a trust fall depending on a slight twelve year old to catch me. Lets just say that I was twice his weight. I carefully reviewed the steps and then I said, “Falling.” I leaned back and began to fall. And my partner followed the process and caught me. Are you willing to let yourself be known? Are you willing to listen to the stories of others? Trust the people in this congregation by sharing yourself. I guarantee you will discover some interesting people and in the process you will grow in your ministry.

Goal #5 - Rethinking Sunday Morning

The most visible moment in the church week is Sunday morning. In many instances, it is what attracts people to the ministry of this parish. It is certainly not the only part of our ministry but it is very important to who we are. The vestry is right to focus time and energy on making Sunday morning a meaningful experience for all the parishioners and at the same time welcoming to those who are here for the first time.

The vestry is exploring ways to start on time, cut down on noise before the service to provide more contemplative time, looking at every aspect of attending St. Patrick’s from the perspective of a newcomer, evaluating the format of the bulletin, and assessing the musical choices. Some time in the next several months, we plan to survey the parish about what makes St. Patrick’s Sunday morning an integral part of your life.

Expect some changes over the next year. As you travel, pay attention to how other churches worship and welcome and then share these ideas with the clergy and members of the vestry. The overall goal of the vestry is to make the Sunday worship at St. Patrick’s reflective of this community and a meaningful time for spiritual growth. 

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[1] Parker Palmer, The Company of Stranger: Christians and the Renewal of America’s Public Life (New York: Crossroad, 1981), 31.

"Grace for Everyone" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, July 4, 2010

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2 Kings 5.1-14

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On this day when we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the United States and the courage of the founders