The Dynamic Life of Faith
This week, our Vestry met for the first time since the Annual Parrish Meeting, and we elected our new wardens. I am quite happy to officially share that Elizabeth Bremner is Holy Spirit’s Senior Warden and Curt Martin is our Junior Warden! The sharing of leadership between clergy and laity is one of the cornerstones of the polity of the Episcopal Church. While we have varying responsibilities, it is such a pleasure to serve a church that shares the ministry of caring for God’s community in this time and place. This Saturday will evidence another occasion of shared leadership as the Diocese of Texas will convene for Diocesan Council. Please pray for our church as we attempt to gather hundreds of delegates virtually, and especially pray for Sandy, Jon, Jordan, Tiffany, Korey, and myself as we participate!
The ministry of the church has always been one of being sent forth to care for others and share the Good News. The very moment when the Holy Spirit rushed through the community and gave life to the church in the book of the Acts of the Apostles was a moment of being sent and enlivened for ministry. This past year has offered challenges as so many of our natural ways of coming together have not been possible. I have the sense that the fellowship cooking teams miss making meals almost as much as we miss enjoying them. Our choir, which is not only a music ministry, but also an important community for our singers, has been truly missed by all. In the midst of such challenges, our Blessings in a Backpack program continues to do amazing work and the local organizations such as Memorial Assistance Ministries and West Houston Assistance Ministries have risen to the occasion in a time of greater need.
I mention these examples because they provide a glimpse into how many people participate in the life of the church. Each program proclaims in its own way that the Kingdom of God has come near as Jesus so often proclaimed when entering a community. I also find it comforting to be reminded of the long-lived and soon to return vibrancy and multiplicity of ministry that occurs on our 12 acre campus. For the entirety of this past year, our leadership, both laity and clergy, have kept the perspective that this pandemic is temporary and in the scope of the life of the church is short lived. While it has seemed like such a long time since the pandemic began, it will seem as a blink of the eye when considered in retrospect. Pray with me for our leadership as we diligently prepare for the fall in anticipation of returning to a full programmatic life together. Thanks be to God for such a dynamic life of faith!