Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in
heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people,
and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
-- BCP, page 215
This Sunday's Texts
Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111;
1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28
1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28
The annual meeting of the congregation is this Sunday.
It
is very important that a significant portion of the active membership
be present to elect four new vestry members, receive written reports,
and have a conversation around the highlights and challenges of the past
year, as well as the opportunities that lie before us this year.
The annual meeting is a moment of both empowerment and mutual accountability.
It
is a moment of empowerment because the membership elects one-third of
the Vestry. Our church board has its authority from the people who
empower them to act on their behalf for the glory of God. You make
church happen.
It is a moment of mutual accountability because the congregation
receives written and oral reports about the state of the parish, its
finances, facilities, ministries, and programs. We, together, call one
another to service.
I want to repeat this statement that I wrote last week: "Emmanuel exists to change lives."
Each
facet of our common life is ordered for the purpose of changing lives.
Not just the preaching. Teaching, fellowship, outreach, the very
building that we use: everything is in the service of changing our lives
more and more into the likeness of Jesus.
The question, of course, is: How well are we doing that?
I
have to confess that I cannot imagine any way of producing metrics on
that! And on any given day, we may not discern any significant change in
ourselves, much less in the life of someone else. However, the annual
meeting helps us gauge our progress in terms of the relative health of
our ministries, programs, and priorities.
Ultimately,
how well we are fulfilling our purpose is known only to God. But we can
see how the activities, events, and choices that we make about our
common life are meeting their particular objectives and we can learn
what else we need to be doing.
Our
presence is needed to have the mutual empowerment and accountability
that makes us healthier and more faithful. I ask you to come to the
annual meeting this Sunday at noon, immediately following the 10:30 service. The Vestry is bringing lunch and the Nursery is open to take care of the young ones.
| Almighty
and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present
with those who take counsel in Emmanuel Church, Harrisonburg, for the
renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first
your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us
both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
-- BCP, page 818
|
Under the Mercy,
Fr. Daniel+
