I Love Our Church

Last week, I spent some time on a retreat with a few close colleagues. The five of us have gathered every year for eight years in a row. Although we stay in touch all year long, we get together for a few days every fall to laugh, play, eat, and pray in person, and that physical togetherness fuels the vocational and spiritual support we offer each other the rest of the time.

Several times while we were together, I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying for the umpteenth time how great St. Paul’s is. (Even good friends eventually get tired of hearing that.) Our staff is fabulous. Our volunteers are incredible. Our music program is top-notch. Our worship is transcendent yet accessible. Our weekday offerings are vibrant. Our partnerships throughout the community are meaningful. Our impact in the lives of our neighbors is immeasurable. And we continue to grow.

Last week, I watched the election results with my colleagues. Originally, we did not plan to be together on Election Day, but, after rescheduling several times to accommodate busy schedules, we settled on that week for our time together. In a way, it was auspicious because we had the chance to process the results together and begin to anticipate what they would mean in our various contexts. In another way, it was hard because I felt disconnected from my primary communities of family and congregation, and I did not have a good sense of how the people I love were handling the news.

I arrived back in town over the weekend, and I came to St. Paul’s on Sunday morning not completely sure what the experience would be like. While I knew that the election would be in the hearts and minds of nearly everyone in church, I did not know how much of an impact it would have on our time together. I offered a sermon that, while not completely isolated from the week’s events, focused on the biblical text instead of the news. As is our custom, we added the president-elect’s name to our prayers of the people. For the most part, however, we got on with the work of the church, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

The pews were packed. The music was as wonderful as always. People seemed eager to be together as the Body of Christ. A few people mentioned the election, but far more expressed gratitude for St. Paul’s. When I announced that Canopy is speeding up the timeline for bringing refugees to our community and that we need volunteers who are willing to be the coordinators of our church’s response to their request for help, a dozen people volunteered to step into that role. I never had any doubt that St. Paul’s would continue to carry out its mission to explore and celebrate God’s infinite grace, acceptance, and love, but even I was touched by the willingness of our parishioners to be faithful in this moment.

We are faithful to God not because we all agree with each other but because we all seek to share the mind of Christ. The faithfulness I experience in this place transcends the perspective of any particular majority because, at St. Paul’s, we recognize that our sense of belonging comes from the God who is the God of everyone.

I am not interested in being a part of a religious organization that defines itself by mandated uniformity of opinion. I do not want to belong to a church that expects its members to agree with denominational policy or the personal beliefs of its clergy or lay leaders. I want to be a part of the body of Christ that is held together by the Holy Spirit, which unites its members in prayer.

I love our church, and I give thanks to God for this parish and for the opportunity to call it my home. I recognize that my role at St. Paul’s is unique and that, whenever I come to church, I am also coming to work, but this week I needed to come back to this place and experience the love and support of a community that I also seek to support and love.

This is not only my job. St. Paul’s is my church, too. It is my family’s church. It is where we come to be nourished by Christ’s body so that we may become more fully Christ’s body. This is a church that is full of God’s love, full of the Holy Spirit, and full of people who desire to be faithful. I could not ask for a better place to call home, and I am thankful that each one of you gets to call it home, too.

Yours faithfully, 

Evan D. Garner