The theme of this Ministry Minute is the same as that of our Stewardship Campaign – transition. How it was, how it is, and how we’re hoping it will be.
So forgive me if I wax philosophical for a moment… Life is funny, huge volumes of our past come into our minds like a flash and seem like they came and went so quickly – my Madeline was tiny when we started coming here, now she’s so big. The point is, we reflect fondly on our past, but we always look to the future, and we should! But we cannot forget to live in the present.
We all know how great Fr. John is as our priest and leader. How, with Anne’s help, he faces the divisions within our community unflinchingly and somehow brings us together. We know how important he is to us as our friend and spiritual leader, but now we need to look forward.
So where do we go from here? What will the new priest be like? Will she realize what a strong community we have? Will he accept us, with all our strengths and flaws, as we are? Will she have the patience to put up with us when we have a hard time making those commitments of Time… Talent… Treasure? I think the answer is yes. I firmly believe, perhaps fool heartedly, that a new leader will come in and take Fr. John’s place and move us forward in a positive direction, with God’s love as the foundation for all of it.
This community of people embodies so much of what is important to me and to my family. From our youngest members with their energy and innocence (and being an endless source of entertainment) to our eldest members with their experience and wisdom, I’m constantly reminded of how I want to be, how I want myself and my family to turn out. We’re certainly doing our part to keep this thing alive and kicking, or at least we’re trying. Sometimes we feel that we can’t do enough and get discouraged, but we never give up. We look to the future, but focus on the present, and make our contribution.
I’ll leave with this final thought – let’s not fear the future. Let’s trust in God and be determined to have the church that He wants us to have. Let’s continue to love each other and help our neighbors. Let’s continue to tolerate, to have patience, to have joy. Let’s be that church that picks up the broken candle and patiently repairs it, puts it back in its place, imperfect, but wonderful.*
* Mike Goulet’s young son Alex was commissioned as a new acolyte on this Sunday when Mike presented his Ministry Minute. The first Sunday Alex acolyted, he tipped the processional candle holder he was carrying and the candle fell off and cracked. Alex was upset, but we just melted some wax over the cracks and fixed the candle, putting it back, as Mike says, “imperfect but wonderful.” A lovely metaphor for Holy Cross Church!