Dear Friends in Christ:
"A lmighty God, who on the day of Pentecost sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles with wind from heaven and in tongues of flame, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the Gospel: by the power of the same Spirit strengthen us to witness to your truth and to draw everyone to the fire of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." (Irish Book of Common Prayer, page 279).
May brings us the Feast of Pentecost, the time the followers of Jesus Christ are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this gift is to help us build up the Church. Each of us is given some gift to help make a difference in the life and mission of the Church. At our baptisms, we pour water over the head of the baptized to cleanse them from sin and give them a new start. Next we anoint them with olive oil to "seal" them, or as the Prayer Book says "to mark them as one of Christ's own forever!"
What gifts have we been given? How will we use them to make Grace Church a better Church? Each of us has a responsibility to help grow the church. The Good News that we have is that we have Jesus Christ. We have the promise of eternal life. We have the promise of a God who loves us and forgives us. Now it's time for us to take on the mission of Jesus Christ as our own.
What is that mission? Like the disciples, it's to share the story of Jesus with others. We are encouraged to use our own words, to tell the story from our point of view, and to invite others into the saving grace of God. By the mere fact of our baptisms, we have already been commissioned to take up this work. Each of us has something that we are good at … that's our gift. Now it's time for us to use this gift in the service of the Church. Maybe it's teaching (we can always use more Sunday School teachers). Maybe it's singing or playing a musical instrument (we'd love to see you in worship with the choir!). Maybe it's visiting (we are always on the look out for eucharistic ministers and pastoral visitors for our parish). Maybe it's serving (consider being part of the altar guild or helping our with St. Paul's or Kids' Alley Café).
There is more to being a Christian than showing up and sitting in the pews. A Christian is one who seeks way to grow the community of faith. The challenge is always for us to decide what our gift is … to look for ways to use it … and to start making a difference by setting aside time to live out our faith. This is not something that is restricted to the young and new members. Each of us is called to make Jesus Christ known to the world.
We try to offer a variety of activities and programs at Grace Church … all of which depend on you, the parishioners to make happen. The men's breakfast, the women's rummage sale, the golf tournament, the Oktoberfest, the "Fiesta", the Mother's Day brunch, the flower sale, the youth choirs' performance, everything we do at Grace Church takes people. A newly formed environmental committee is looking for ways to make the church and community more sensitive and responsive to a "greener" home for both us and the Church. A healing ministry is taking shape to provide hope and encouragement to those suffering from illness. A few people are interested in reaching out to the mentally ill and offering support to family members who care for them. What will you do to live out your faith in place at this time?
Pentecost reminds us that we are a people called to action. We have been given gifts. We have the presence of Jesus in our lives. We are gathered here at this time and in this place. Now it's time to act! Now it's time to step up and make our contributions to a living and growing Church. Where will you step in? When will you start being part of the faith community?
May
God bless you and your loved ones this Holy Pentecost. May we
recognize our gifts and start sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ!
I look forward to seeing your ministry at work in our faith community
soon!
With
warmest regards, I remain, faithfully yours in Christ,
Fr Pat