Eager to Love
Last night, we began the Inquirers Class online. More than a dozen people showed up on their computer screens to learn about St. Paul’s. Although I had met several of the participants before, most of the newcomers were individuals whom I had either never seen or only seen once or twice in passing. In one sense, that is not at all surprising. We have not been able to gather in person for worship or fellowship for almost six months, and, when we see people in the park on in the store, it is behind masks that make it hard to recognize each other. On the other hand, though, for a group of newcomers to show up for an online class without first being able to come to church in person is astonishing. What courage and confidence it takes to show up with hardly any sense of what will take place!
Then again, people who come to St. Paul’s for the first time rarely do so without knowing something about our church. As several of the participants in last night’s class shared, people are drawn to our church because of what we represent in the wider community. As Episcopalians, we are known for our inclusive spirit and generous welcome. As members of St. Paul’s, we are known for our willingness to care for those in need, to stand up alongside the disenfranchised, and to take risks in order to make our community a better place. Even if they have never set foot in the church before, many of our newcomers have already heard plenty of good things about us and have considered joining our congregation because they know how much good we do in the world.
Still, as a worshipping community, we are more than what we give away and are defined by something even greater than our generosity. We pursue those in need and strive to transform our community not only because those are the right things to do but because God has loved us and, in that love, has given us a vision for what the world will become when God’s authority is established fully on the earth. That vision is found in the pages of scripture in stories like that of Sarah giving birth to Isaac, of the Israelites being rescued from bondage in Egypt, of Nathan’s willingness to confront King David about his abuse of power. It is found in stories like that of Jesus’ embrace of the unclean leper, his restoration of the bent-over woman among the children of Abraham, and his turning over of the tables in the Jerusalem temple.
The God we worship is not only the creator of all things and the giver of all good gifts. God is also the one who calls us to use the resources we have been given to help restore all of creation to the perfection God envisions for it. That means feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and caring for the sick and welcoming the stranger and combatting systemic racism and breaking the bonds of economic oppression and fighting for the health of our planet not only because those are the things that good and decent people do but because, by doing them, we fulfill our calling as children of God. In Christ, God has reconciled us to Godself, showing us to be God’s beloved children. In the confidence of that unbreakable love and in the power of God’s abiding presence in our lives, we carry out the work of loving others in God’s name.
If you want to be a part of a congregation that is committed to loving others in ways that make a tangible, transformative, measurable difference in their lives, you have come to the right place. If you want to be a part of a community that does those things not simply because we are supposed to but because we recognize that we have been loved even before we do them—in fact, even if we do not do them at all—welcome home. There is a particular freedom and a deep joy that come from loving others simply because we have been loved, and our mission at St. Paul’s is to do just that.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan