A Homily for Trinity XIX
October 5th, 2013
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Amen
A year ago yesterday I was sitting down with a friend to wait for another to celebrate her birthday. I looked down at my phone to see Fr. Henthorne calling, which was odd, as he rarely called on a Friday night, so I figured I should answer it. I dodged out of the restaurant and to my surprise it was Priscilla. During that call she informed me that Fr. Henthorne was in the hospital. He had over done it, was sick, a scenario we were all familiar with. However as the situation developed, it quickly became clear that this was more serious. Within a week and a half we lost our dear friend and spiritual father.
I suspect like many tragedies and tumults of life we can all remember those moments ear-marked in time by the news that our world was being turned upside down. Yet through this tragedy God has been exceptionally faithful to us. Still today Priscilla and her family remembers the kindness and hard work we showed during those days.
Over the past year we have struggled and wrestled with many things. In those first few months there were several Sundays that I went home and cried, unsure what I had done wrong or where the peace I had so often found in our little community had gone. Yet we persevered through this. Things have changed and I go home Sundays - tired - but filled with joy for the love that we bear.
So a year later, we are still here, we are doing well. Things are far from perfect, but we know that God is faithful even in the darkest of days. We have wrestled with this loss - the pain and the questions it left. Though some still linger, and though there are days that I miss him with all of my heart (I am certain that is the same for all of us), our little congregation remains strong, though changed. We have much to be thankful to God for.
Now this lays out the question of what is next? Where are we going from here? I believe that though we are a small parish, we are a strong parish. We have a lot of work laid out in front of us.
We need, first of all, to keep our eyes on the goal, we need to continue and persevere. We need to run the race, keeping the prize in mind, that prize is of course life with God in heaven. We need to continue to live with that one goal in mind: giving glory to God, living out the gospel in all we do, continually repenting, and believing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We need to continue to grow. Growth comes in two forms, the first being the most important. We need to continue to grow spiritually. Ever seeking to know God more intimately, ever training our hearts to avoid sin, remembering to pray always and sing praises to God.
Growth also comes from the number of members in our congregation. The average age of our congregation is a little high. Each of us brings a gift- and this is a good and beautiful thing, but we yearn to be and to serve a broader spectrum of people. If the Lord wills it, we need more people; and whatever His will for our parish, it is our duty to daily pray open our hearts to love those whom the Father would give to us. I believe that we can grow, and perhaps more importantly, I am confident that we will grow.
We need to be outward looking. God has provided for our needs incredibly. With that being said: we need to be aware, first, if one of our congregants has a need- spiritually or emotionally or physically. We must endeavor to help him or her through these things. However we also need to be giving to those around us and to our brothers and sisters around the world who are in need: we need to do charitable out reach. I had a long conversation with a dear friend at Synod and he diagnosed the situation astutely- the biggest struggle within the continuing Anglican churches is that we are too inward looking. I talked to another friend on the way home and he said “of course we are, we are in survival mode.” We shall never grow if we are always on the defensive. We can never score a touchdown in we are always punting. Instead we look forward and live the gospel with an open heart.
We are doing many of these things well, we must continue to do them. Those things that we are not doing, or not doing well, we must begin to do. I would like to clarify that when we say “we live to gospel, “ I do not mean that we go door to door knocking and saying “do you want to know Jesus?” It means rather, that we live with an open heart, open ears and kind words. It means that glorifying God is our key goal in all we do. This does not mean invasive evangelism, but rather loving God, and being honest about that whom we serve. I think as Anglican Christians in New England, we are very quiet about our faith. I think that is alright, but I know when we live our lives to the Glory of God, we need not use words at first, for others will see that our lives are different than the lives of the world- as the epistle says, we do not live as the gentiles live. This difference will glorify God, and will naturally draw people to the gospel.
So what is next for us? Over the next year, I will ask the vestry develop mission and vision statements so that we can figure out how our little parish gives glory to God. We will tidy up the by-laws which are kind of a mess right now. We will start a more active program of outreach figuring out how to give locally, providing, even in little ways for the most vulnerable around us. And we will give internationally, and we will restart our Christian education program. We will make a plan for when children come, and I believe they will come.
If you see us heading in a direction that you find odd or worrisome, or you think you have a brilliant idea for something we can do as a parish, please tell a vestry member or me. I hope that I am easy to approach and that you feel comfortable telling me how you think things are going, and any ideas that you may have. Perhaps we have a good reason for the things we are doing or perhaps it is something we didn’t notice, either way, I want to be approachable. I want to know what the parish is thinking. This is your parish, and it should be reflective of what orthodox Anglican Christianity looks like in Hancock County, Maine.
So, the next question is how to do I, Fr. Dunn, play into this. I have waited a long time to articulate my sense of call to you. Perhaps this was wrong of me, and if it was I apologize for dragging my feet and I ask for your forgiveness. I feel definitively called to be here for this season. I sense that my call is to help build this church. I believe that I can do it, and I believe that it will happen. I do believe that eventually I will be called to something else. I make this pledge that I will be honest with you, once I definitively know my next call, I will tell you, and I will, to the best of my ability give you as much of a warning as I am able. I love this place deeply, and I want to see it thrive and grow in the love and grace of God.
My wise friend with whom I had a long conversation at synod told me I should be forthright with you all about my call. Some priests find their church and they are happy to stay there until the end of their days. I do not believe that this is my call here and now, though I will not discount that it may be eventually. I do not see myself growing old here. I do however see myself being here for several years. At this time I am not willing to put a number on those years, but I do believe that I am called to build this church and I believe I can build this church, and I do believe that I will, with the help of God and with the help of all of you. While I will lead this process, it is not me who builds the church- it is first God who will add to our numbers daily and secondly all of you. It is not “Fr. Dunn’s church,” but rather Christ’s Church, it is your church in Christ.
Finally, we have talked about what we as a parish can do, and what I will do, but the last question remains: how can you help the church and help me? You can remember that I am a human being too, that I am as fallen and broken as everyone else. Remember that I am susceptible to sin like any other person, and so I ask that you are quick to forgive when I am not the perfect pastor and priest.
Please remember that though I came here five years ago as Ian, I am now Fr. Ian or Fr. Dunn, or for our low church segment Pastor Dunn or Pastor Ian. Any of these designations are acceptable. This dynamic has shifted. I think it is a good and beautiful thing that we have raised up a leader from within (although St. Paul’s in Portland might want to fight you for a claim over who rose me up, you may have claim over me, this is home.) With that in mind please try to remember Anglicanism is a church with a strong leadership and we need to be aware of that, so that we continue in our Anglican ethos.
You can help me by watching for burn-out. I do not want you to think that I am on the verge, however pastors, as a profession, have one of the highest rates of burn-out. As someone who is bi-vocational I worry for the balance, and I like serving you all too much to burn out- which also means I may not notice when it is coming. I do not want to fizzle before the end of my days but rather burn brightly. So please watch and please help me to know when I am in need of a break, and please do not be afraid tell me if this day comes, and I will do my best to listen, chances are I’ll know, but be too proud to admit it. I am human.
Please pray for me, and I will pray for all of you.
We have been through a valley of darkness, we will go through more, but we will also climb mountains with great vistas, together we will laugh, we will cry. In growth, there will be pain, there will be joy. Let us persevere through these things together as one family in Christ. Our God is a very good God, he is faithful, let us be anxious to serve him in all things. I think that God has given us an incredible hope and an incredible future. Let us joyfully take up our cross and follow him into our future.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen
