The Anniversary of a Journey

Today is mostly a personal “anniversary” for me, but one which is fitting to share with the Parish. One year ago this evening, Senior Warden Mark Hyatt called to say that the Vestry had voted to offer me the position of Rector, and I accepted.

I and Laura had lived in the Washington DC area for over 20 years. We had raised our son, John, in Alexandria, Virginia. We had not even moved to go to seminary, with Virginia Theological Seminary already in Alexandria. But I knew that to answer the call of God meant that eventually, I would need to leave my home, and go wherever God called me. And so, when that call came to leave what I had called home, I was ready to say yes.

And to tell the truth, I was ready to leave the Diocese of Virginia. A number of parishes voted to leave the Episcopal Church in 2006. One of those was the church where I was serving part-time as part of my seminary education. Of course, when they chose divorce, I could not be with them and be an Episcopalian. But that did not make the leaving any less painful. Unlike here, in Virginia, those local churches have held on to the property, an action now before the Virginia Supreme Court. After seminary, I was the Priest-in-Charge of a “continuing” congregation of loyal Episcopalians forced to worship in a school cafeteria because of the schism. I was stuck in a “niche” of broken hearts and broken churches.

From my first contact with Mark and the rest of the Vestry, I sensed a healthy parish that had come through its own conflict, and had come out more strongly committed to each other, and to its mission. In our early conversations, I saw that there was room to disagree, in love, without that disagreement leading to divorce. In my interview with the Search Committee, I saw a parish prepared to cooperate with its leaders. By “cooperation,” I don’t mean giving in to the leader, but listening and giving fair consideration to my perspective. In my first meeting with the Vestry, in December, I saw a willingness to embrace the future in their acceptance of a children’s sermon. Changes in worship are usually the most sensitive and most likely to meet resistance, we paid ministers are told. But this change has been accepted with enthusiasm.

My “personal ministry statement,” which the Search Committee saw, is this: Through preaching, formation, pastoral care and worship, I seek to equip the saints to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world. I think that blends well with the mission of this parish to be an outward and visible sign of Christ. As the years go by, I hope to build each of you saints up to be that sign, in whatever ministry God calls you to.

The Search Committee presumably had some idea of what they were getting. But none of us, not me or all of you, knew for sure what the other was getting when I moved here last January. We’ve had nearly a year to get to know each other. And this January, we will share the anniversary of my coming to you all, and take stock of how things have changed for all of us. But this day, I thank you all for your friendship and support, for me and my family.