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CEpiphany1-2010 Annual Parish Meeting January 10, 2010
Each year every parish in the Episcopal Church has an Annual Parish Meeting. For the past couple of years instead of an evening meeting or Sunday after church, we’ve been holding our Annual Parish Meeting during 1st Sunday breakfast when a good many of us are already gathered, which is what we’ll do today.
This is when three vestry members complete their term on our vestry and three new members are elected. The vestry will share the 2010 budget they have approved. We report on highlights of 2009 and look forward with hope and vision to 2010. The senior warden will give his report during the meeting. I use the sermon time to give my report so you won’t have to hear me twice in one day!
I just finished my sixth year as rector of Grace-Calvary, Hard to believe!
As I take a sweeping look back we have made some important steps together. St. Julian Hall was enlarged the first year I was here. Now every Sunday we hold eight Christian Ed classes. We have a resource library of quality books for people to borrow. Every space in the building is used and one adult class and the choir meet over in the Parish House. We have an average attendance at our Sunday morning classes of 35 children and youth and 38 adults. Out of a membership of about 300 people, we have an average of 160 at worship on Sundays.
During the week both buildings are used for numerous groups. We are generous with our building use for groups whose purpose fits our mission: Foothills Counseling Center, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alanon, Narcotics Anonymous, a book study group, exercise classes, music classes for young children, not to mention our own meetings, classes and dinners.
This historic church has gotten some special attention. The exterior is painted and original shutters restored. The chancel area has been brought back to its original shape, with two pews and prayer desks being replaced. The flooring and carpet have been refreshed. And our new kneelers are a work of liturgical art that will become a signature and a treasure.
We’ve continued to organize our vestry and committees in a way that facilitates good cooperation and communication. This is always a challenge – to have information flow like a good cardiovascular system without any clogs. We have put a few stints in and we still need to add a few more in our system as we try to communicate in such a way that people are informed of what is going on.
Our strategic plan, called our Horizon Initiatives, is kept alive and evolving. You’ll hear from Eph Davis, our senior warden, about some goals that have been accomplished this year.
Last year I asked us to keep a plumbline before us. The idea came from the prophet Jeremiah and his description of how God has prepared for his people to return home after years of exile. It is a beautiful picture of prepared expectation on God’s part. And it’s a good standard for us as we expect and welcome people, including ourselves, into the church.
The three-point plumbline is: To provide easy entry into everything – So that our worship and fellowship, our committees and classes, are all welcoming, not intimidating or exclusive. And whether you’re arriving at this church for the first time, Or you’ve been here a long time and are getting involved in something new, You feel like you’ve been expected and prepared for.
Secondly that this be a place and we be a people where God’s love is evident. That no matter what the context is, each person is invited, allowed, encouraged to encounter God and to grow in love with God.
Thirdly, that this place is a safe place to be and to grow. Some seek spiritual growth – and want guidance and companionship. Some seek social belonging – and want to be connected to God through people and working together. Some seek intellectual growth and want a place to search for ways to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God.
An easy entry, a place to experience God’s love, and a safe place to grow.
So now what? Where are we going in 2010? There is a relatively new term being used for churches today. I think in many ways our congregation already fits this new model. It’s called the practicing congregation. One description is that the practicing congregation takes a deep breath, looks around its neighborhood, says its prayers, and builds a life constructed out of its foundational principles.
That is what we do together – as we worship, study, do outreach, make coffee- is done with intention that flows from the Christian way. Marcus Borg says that practice is about the living of the Christian way. Dorothy Bass writes that practice is shared activities that shape our belief and are formed from our belief. Woven together, they become a way of life.
A practicing congregation does what it does because we believe we are participating in God’s recreating the world in Christ in ways that are worthy, good, and beautiful,
The church is a workshop where we are the focus of the gospel; we are the location of the good news of God in Christ where all things are being made new; where the real reality of God is expected and welcomed.
[A new spin on grace. Grace happens when we get significant help from beyond ourselves To grasp reality. To see ourselves and to see the world as God sees it.]
As we continue in this practice of God’s work in Christ, What’s ahead?
I’ll remind us of one thing that Jim Yeary said. Jim was the interim priest during your search for a rector. Jim said that Grace-Calvary needs to find out who she is. For decades she was a summer chapel for founding families. In recent times she was molded and modeled by the remarkable (and there are still many remarks made!) St. Julian Lachicotte. For a decade he used his firey personality to pastor and challenge people into strong bonds and community ministries. Sharing & Caring, Habersham Christian Learning Center, the African-American Music Alliance, and many more lasting ministries, were begun by Julian. And it was the fire from Julian’s bellows that kept it all going.
Then, Barbara Taylor came to Grace-Calvary. Her excellence and notoriety as a preacher swelled your numbers - and the contours and identity of this parish conformed to the gifts she brought. When she moved out into the larger church and academic world, these walls that had bulged with visitors had to readjust.
What will our practice lead us to now? How will we be intentional about being a useful, productive workshop for God?
We are in a town that has new intentionality. Clarkesville is finding its center, its identity and actively moving in an exciting direction. Our church isn’t urban. We don’t find needles on the sidewalks and we don’t leave blankets in the bushes for the homeless when it is cold. Our church isn’t suburban. We are overrun with scout troupes after school activities. We are in the heart of a town that is attracting vibrant adults who are past the stage of life that demanded active income production. - Retired is not a relevant word for this group! – They now have the time to look at their spiritual life and to develop meaningful friendships and activities.
And we are attracting families and young people who are intentional about what kind of community they want to be a part of.
How shall Grace-Calvary contribute to this town, this neighborhood, as we practice Christ’s recreation of this place?
Ideas are forming from the visioning we’ve done about our future. +A day facility for elders and young children…where these two generations can nurture and engage with each other in rich and meaningful ways. +A resource center for people who are arriving in this area or for those who are finding themselves in a new phase of their life where new resources are needed. +Pedestrian-friendly housing for elders who are looking to downsize and need community support to maintain their dignity and independence. …and there are more ideas.
Let’s join together, continue to practice a Christ-centered life, and live into God’s imagining for us.
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