St. John s Episcopal Church

Transcription

1 St. John s Episcopal Church P.O. Box South Wayne Avenue Waynesboro, VA donna@stjohnse.comcastbiz.net Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt? When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. Matthew 14:28-33 Well, it is September already! Your Search Committee has developed a very good parish profile and finished writing 12 answers about St. John s that all candidates for the rector position will read to find out about the mission and people of St. John s. I am truly excited about this time in the life of this parish. I am sure you all are too. Your interim time began when Kim announced his leaving and I am sure that at times this transition has been emotionally, physically and spiritually chaotic for you. Naturally there is some anxiety about the future of St. John s and it may be because you cannot picture what that future will look like or the part you will have to play to succeed into it. What St. John s will look like is as blurry as that figure on the water that the disciples saw walking towards them. Remember last week we heard of Jesus having to get away to the mountains to pray. Now, Jesus, still needing to get away to grieve the loss of John the Baptist and in spite of the Apostle s doubting they could, he has just fed five thousand people with two fish and five loaves of bread and sends the Apostles away across the sea while he goes up the mountain alone. I think that is Jesus equivalent of us telling our children to go out and play when we need some time alone. So, Jesus sends them away and they are tossed by tall waves and strong winds all night. And they were scared.. Lord, if it is you, Peter says after Jesus tells them to not be afraid, command me to come to you across the water and Jesus does so. And when Peter begins to concentrate only on the storm around him he begins to sink. Jesus immediately rescues him while saying you of little faith, why did you doubt? I would like to ask you today: Exactly who did Peter doubt? Ever since the Church began it has been compared to and described as a boat. We sit in a Nave which comes from the medieval Latin word navis which means ship. I think we all can relate to that imagery of us being the Apostles who are being rocked and rolled and almost capsized by changes inside and outside the church. We all are feeling uncertain and anxious about the future. We look at larger ships (or churches) around us and wonder, What are they doing that we aren t? We may ask, like Joseph s brothers, Why are they the favored ones? We are caught up in storms of distress, that come on us all, even those following the commands of Christ. We are caught up in fear, sometimes real danger, and sometimes imagined ghosts. Last week I stumbled across a not-so-new book called Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell. In it he says, I want to help you learn how to confidently look the prospect of failure in the eye and move forward anyway. Because in life, the question is not IF you have problems, but how you are going to deal with them. Stop failing backward and start failing forward. What started out as a great opportunity for Peter turned into what the church for centuries has considered a great failure but I want to suggest that Peter failed forward. Think about it. Peter was the one that got out of the safety of the boat. He dared to step out of the box the church has been for us for so long. He risked trying something different. When he focused only on Jesus he was able to do what others did not even attempt. He walked on water, if only for a little continued on next page

2 Fall Kick-off Breakfast 9:00 a.m. Sunday, September 10 If your last name begins with A - M, please bring fruit, muffins, rolls or breads. If your last name begins with N - Z, please bring an egg dish, casserole, or breakfast meats. Church Office closed September 4 Regular office hours begin September 5 8:15-3:00 p.m. Regular Worship Times begin September 10 Holy Eucharist Rite I 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II 10:30 a.m. continued from previous page while, because once he paid attention to the trouble around him he sunk like a rock. Peter also failed forward because he learned how to answer Jesus call through the tumult and he learned that Jesus would save him. Peter s faith in Jesus allowed others in the boat to witness a miracle not a misstep. So it wasn t Jesus whom Peter doubted it was himself. Jesus asks him why he has such little faith in himself and his ability to move forward through uncertainty, to be stretched outside his ministry comfort zone. How many of us, how many of our churches are sitting in the Nave afraid of trying anything new because we are afraid of failing? Afraid of looking silly or being ridiculed for daring to try something? If you think about it, all churches in every denomination are in a transition time. All of us are afraid of the uncertain world that churns and changes around us. It s time to risk failing. It s time to leave the safety of the past and try new ways of reaching out for Jesus. Questioning God, having doubts about whether Jesus is truly present in the most difficult of situations. That is what our spiritual journey is based upon. It is in questioning God that we grow stronger in our relationship with God. Without questions and doubts our faith is like a shallow stream. Peter reminds us that demanding Jesus to be in a stormy situation is natural for us but being sure that we can hold up in that chaos is where we fall short. So, maybe you have been thinking of doing something you feel Jesus is pulling you to but have been too worried about who is watching or what is happening around you to step out of that comfortable boat. The Good News today? Jesus is saying, Go for it! Focus on Jesus and step out of your comfort zone. And even if we fail, Jesus continues to call us forward to come closer to him, closer to the person we are called to be, closer to the church we can be. Let s not doubt that. Amen! Denise+ Page 2

3 Search Committee Update: Phase 1 Complete! All the information that we (the parish and committee) began gathering in February is now in the two formats required by the diocese. One is posted to the National Episcopal website and the other to our St. John's website. Now our future priest, and many others, will be able to view it. The next step is for the Bishop to receive and look at candidate applications and to pass them on to us as he gets them. The committee will be meeting with Denise in September to begin discernment on interview questions and the process. As always, please keep our Parish, the Vestry and Search Committee in your prayers. P.S. Kathy Garber has worked miracles getting our data together and up on the website. When you see her, please thank her. Expanding St. John s Outreach in Our Community Second Presbyterian Church, where Disciples Kitchen is held, has asked area churches to participate in donating items for their Christmas stockings program for those that attend their luncheon program. They typically serve 75 adult and children. We will be helping out by donating 25 pairs each of men s, women s and children s socks and 25 storybooks for children under 10 years old. We will be collecting these items throughout October and November for delivery to Second Presbyterian Church by December 11th. Boxes decorated in Christmas paper will be in the foyer beginning October 1. Episcopal Church Women News ECW Meeting September 17, 9:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall. There will be a special scarf program by Katie Sullivan which you won t want to miss! Bazaar Planning and Workday Thursday, September 14, 10:00 a.m. in the library. Bring project ideas for future workdays and help put pizazz in our bazaar this year. Change of location, new ideas and committees in the works. ECW Lunch Thursday, September 14 at noon at The Bistro in Staunton (following the work session). Meet at 11:45 a.m. at the church to carpool, or meet us at the restaurant at noon. Please call the office by September 8 to sign up. Disciples Kitchen September 11 is our day to provide lunch at Second Presbyterian Church. The menu is as follows: Hot dogs, buns, condiments, baked beans, cole slaw, peaches, cookies or brownies. There will be a sign up sheet on the Mission bulletin board indicating how much of each item we will need. If you would like to make a monetary donation that would be wonderful. We also need workers to serve. This is a great outreach ministry for St. John s parishioners to share their time, talent, and treasures. Any questions you may have can be answered by calling the church office or contacting Gerrie Kerby or June Elliott, Ministry co-chairs. Page 3

4 Steps of Transition Process Congregational Self Study Parish wide Discernment Vestry maintains day to day life of congregation Vestry discern and appoint Search Committee Vestry develop search budget and new rector compensation elements Vestry gives charge to Search Committee Prayer & communication about search process to entire parish becomes part of fabric of congregational life Search Committee interprets results of congregational self-study exercises as the basis for the creation of a Parish Profile and answering Office of Transition Ministry (OTM) Community Portfolio Search Committee completes OTM Community Portfolio and Updates Website OTM Community Portfolio and Parish Profile approved by vestry and Diocesan Transition Minister (DTM) Receiving Names Search Committee Discernment Position is listed on the OTM database, the Transition Ministry Conference (TMC) website, and the parish website Bishop s office receiving names of interested candidates or candidates recommended by others Search Committee discerns initial interview list of candidates to engage in further conversation Search coach/dtm provides training of Search Committee in conducting conversations with candidates Search Committee conducts conversations with candidates via Skype Search Committee selects candidates to visit the parish and invites to visit after DTM receives positive initial background check result; spouses may also be invited Candidates must have interview with Bishop Mark when they visit parish DTM begins formal Oxford Background Check (parish pays for background check expenses) Search Committee enters into final discernment to determine finalist Call to New Ministry Final Discernment Search Committee recommends one finalist to vestry for confirmation Finalist invited back to parish, if needed Vestry has conversation with candidate and makes choice to elect Sr. Warden requests Bishop Mark s permission to extend call Sr. Warden and/or Search Chair contacts finalist to confirm call Sr. and Jr. Warden must notify the Bishop in writing of the candidate chosen (Title III, canon 9, section 3) Announcement to congregation on agreed date Letter of Agreement negotiated and signed Parish pays moving expenses Conclusion of Transition Transition process draws to close and new ordained leader welcomed Search Committee s work celebrated and thanked Congregation says Goodbye & Thanks to Interim Priest Prepare to welcome new rector Celebration of New Ministry Page 4

5 2017 Vestry Members Amy Bihl George Buzzard Dale Diacont June Elliott Warren Elliott Kathy Garber Gerrie Kerby Richard Smith Alex Sullivan Nancy Rogers Colleen Taylor Freddie Zeh Eucharistic Visitor September 10 Carole Shriver to visit Rose Boyd September Birthdays 3) Gary Rankin, Alex Sullivan 4) Sophia Wolfe 5) John Rutherford 11) Christopher Anderson, Talmage Cooley 13) Norman Anderson 16) Stacey Bassett Lopes, Joanne Garcia, Rodney Hulse 17) Moxley Fisher, Kyle Vernier, Tom Maneval 18) Kathryn Anderson 19) Bud Buehler 22) Fran Gomez 23) Bettina Remington 27) Stephen Anderson, Stacy Kennedy 28) Walt Lewis 30) William Shehan September Anniversaries 18) Kathy Kappes and Jeff Roth 24) Pete and Susie Marks 25) Whitney and Giovanni Cannata 29) Edie and Bill Eckman 30) Amy and David Bihl July Attendance st nd rd th th The Mission of St. John s Episcopal Church is to worship and serve God as we: Pray, Proclaim the gospel, Promote spiritual growth, justice, peace and love. Affirmed by the Vestry, December 2008 All articles are due in the church office not later than the 15th of each month. Early items are always accepted. Thank you for being kind and on time. Deadline for October issue: September 15 Page 5