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Habakkuk 1:1 -2:4, II Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev'd W. Lee Shaw
For over 10 years I have been mentoring the Education for Ministry (EFM) classes and I have a full class of 12 very diverse and interesting people this year. Each year we begin with what we call our Spiritual Autobiography and we tell some of our story, where we have been, who has been in our lives, how God seems to have moved in our lives. It is a very special time of sharing and building community. This past Monday evening I began by telling part of my story. In it I mentioned the two other parishes where I have served as priest and then left to go to another parish community.
At the end of my presentation, Brian Bach asked, Are you planning to
leave St. Stephen's?
It took me by surprise because I had not thought
of it in those terms. I replied no, I plan to stay here at St. Stephen's;
this will undoubtedly be my last parish as a rector. I had made an inner
commitment when I was called here to hopefully stay here until retirement,
some years down the road! Plus given the stock market and my pension
fund, I will need to work three more years after I die in order to retire!
To make a commitment is very important to me. I see the life of a Christian as a life built on the foundation of commitments: commitment to God in baptism, commitment to the broader world through our Baptismal Covenant, commitment to our parish community through our common life.
Sometimes people joke about how easy it is to be an Episcopalian because you don't have to adhere to a strict set of doctrines and social customs of do's and don'ts. For example, we do not have dietary restrictions.
I do not think that is the case at all. I believe to be a faithful Christian, of any denomination, requires commitment and sacrifice. It also requires a conscientious decision to live in a community of people who bring their own idiosyncrasies to every gathering. As I have noted several times, living in community requires continual acts of forgiveness.
Living in a community of faith also requires a commitment of care and
concern for the common life of the community. This sense of corporate
commitment is noted in our Epistle to Timothy. Paul reminds Timothy
that the faith given him is for him to take hold of, he cannot rely on
the faith of his mother and grandmother. ...I remind you to rekindle
the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;
for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of
power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then,
of the testimony about our Lord....
This particular passage is very meaningful for me since Bishop Bates
inscribed it in the Bible he gave me on my ordination as a deacon.
It speaks deeply to me of my commitment to my God and to my community.
I invite you to look at your sense of community in this place of St. Stephen's and your commitments here. We are a relatively small parish community and rely on the hands and hearts of every one. In this regard, I feel we have much we can be very grateful for. There is an abundance of activity, programs, socializing and offerings in this community. One example is our WOW program. I do not know of another parish in the diocese that maintains the level of involvement with a meal and program as we do at WOW. This also means we need to broaden the base of commitment with WOW so that more people can share the efforts that create this abundance of offerings. We offer a full Sunday School program and youth group ministry. We have two full adult education programs each Sunday. We have the Second Saturday gatherings. We have a brand new choir. There is an abundance of sharing that is happening here. And for all our abundance in offerings, we need an abundance of willing hearts and hands to share in these ministries.
And for all of this I give thanks. This is not something I do.
This is something we do as a community. There is a sense of
commitment and confidence in this parish as evidenced in what we have
in our Mission Statement: St. Stephen's is a welcoming, confident
community with a diversity of gifts; where all are equal in Christ.
We live our baptismal vows through mutual respect, shared ministry,
and joyful worship.
Just read it on our banner!
I invite you to look at the abundance of our life at St. Stephen's; an abundance in our common life and shared faith. I invite you to look at your commitment to our common life: your commitment in time and sharing, your commitment of talent and giving, and your commitment of treasure and supporting through your pledge and other offerings to our parish. I invite you to look at your commitment to this part of the Body of Christ and how you can help all of us continue to grow into the full stature of Christ.
I am grateful for my call to this community. I am committed to offering
myself and my ministry to each of you. Please, come join me in our common
call to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.