St. Paul's Episcopal Church

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
425 Cleveland Ave SW
Canton, Ohio 44702
Phone: 330-455-0286
Fax: 330-455-9818
E-mail: office@stpaulscanton.org

Epiphany 4
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Canton OH
Jeremiah 1:4-10; I Corinithians 13, Luke 4:21-30

January 31, 2010
The Rev. Barbara L Bond

Vision

Being a prophet and a visionary can be risky business. Jeremiah wasn’t sure he wanted the job. In fact, when God called him to prophecy, Jeremiah had several excuses: “Aw, gee, God, I’m too young, and I don’t know how to talk.” God replied, “Nonsense. You’re old enough, and besides, I’ll give you the words. The job is yours.” Apparently, it was an offer Jeremiah couldn’t refuse. He was supposed to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and overthrow, the build and to plant. Oi-vey! As he embarked on this vocation, his words were not often received gracefully.

Jesus encountered much the same problem when he started on his vocation. Starting in his hometown, he went to the synagogue, read from the prophet Isaiah about establishing God’s kingdom and healing the downtrodden, and then announced he was going to fulfill the prophecy. The response was not positive. First, the people put him down by saying, “Hey, isn’t this the kid from the carpentry shop?” They wondered if he would do some magic tricks for them. Jesus could see they weren’t taking him seriously and muttered, “Prophets do fine, except in their hometowns.” He offered them some stories which showed that they couldn’t take God’s beneficence for granted. They were not happy. In fact, they wanted to throw him off a cliff. Yes, prophecy and vision can be risky business!

Well, you have entrusted your vestry with the job of being visionaries for this parish, and they are going forward fearlessly! We met yesterday for six hours. We prayed, we celebrated the Eucharist, we ate lunch together, and we talked and talked and talked. After Steve Wogaman gave the parish his doomsday speech at the annual meeting, we knew we had big challenges for the future. Steve said that if we did nothing, St. Paul’s could be closing its doors in the year 2017. And so we started with dreaming an alternative. What would we like the parish to be like in 2017?

We would like to have an average Sunday attendance of 150, with an active children’s program and a balance among the generations. We would like our present building to be completely modernized, with efficient heating and air conditioning and insulation. We would like portions of the building in use all week long, producing revenue for ten percent of the budget. We would like our utilities to be less than ten percent of the budget. We would like financial stability. We would like amazing communications, with a website that leaps off the screen. We want exciting, evolving ministry, engaging the city, the region and the world.

It is a wonderful multi-faceted vision. It will do more than “stop the clock” of our decay. Rather, it will be the well-spring of new life and spirited engagement, inside the parish and outside our doors. For this positive vision, I doubt any of you would want to throw us off a cliff.

However, this vision is going to take work, not just by your vestry, but by all of us. We will be rolling out specific goals and objectives in the next weeks, and asking for your support as we work to build God’s kingdom on earth. We need your help.

This week, I will name only one thing, and it is something everyone can do. Do you love your parish? Are you happy to be here? Does the worship inspire you, does the fellowship bring you joy, do the outreach efforts warm your heart? Then talk about it! Invite a friend to church. Honestly: this is a way we can all start working on our vision, this week! Bring your friends, invite them to coffee hour, introduce them to other members. We know we have a great thing going here. Let’s share this love in Christ with others, and be intentional about it.

The vestry’s vision is not about survival; rather, it is a grown-up goal of being a grown-up church, doing the hard work, engaging the challenges, because we love God and our neighbor. There is no other reason to do it.

Our third reading this morning reminds us of that purpose, and calls us to maturity. St. Paul wrote that he had childish assumptions, when he was a child. But he has grown up, experienced the world, and he has come to this conclusion: that without love, there is no point in anything. We concur: without love, there is no point in having church.

But we do have love. Love empowers everything we do. Love is the glue that holds us together. Let us nurture it, practice it, and share it.

AMEN