Father David’s post of 6/25/2021 — It has become a tradition the last several years, at the annual meeting, to recognize a member of SsAM as an unsung hero. This year we did not, due in large part to not being able to be together this past year because of the pandemic. It was recommended that we recognize everyone at SsAM as an unsung hero. As I reflected about that idea, the suggestion to celebrate the entire parish seemed to me to be a great idea.
The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew is more than one person or ministry. All of us together make SsAM what it is, and it is important to step back and celebrate that fact. As St. Paul says in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?” (I Corinthians 12:14-19).
As we begin this time of rector transition, of you and me saying goodbye the next six months, I hope each one of us can stop for moment during our busy schedule to give thanks for the many talents the people of SsAM offer to the entire Body of Christ located at 719 North Shipley Street.
No one gift is the same, but all are essential if the parish is to grow into the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). The sharing of the many gifts that are present at SsAM will be called upon to assist staff and vestry as they work with Bishop Brown and Canon Kirkpatrick to call an interim rector and eventually calling the third rector of SsAM.
This work will not begin until after I have left at the end of this year, but it is important that it be mentioned. As we begin the summer months when many will be taking much needed vacations and time away, I hope that you will take a moment and give thanks for everyone at SsAM who make this faith community special. Everyone then is an unsung hero of this parish and every gift, talent, and idea is to be valued and celebrated by all. All things are possible if you work together and place your trust in the One who loves us and calls us out of ourselves to make God through Christ known in the world.
Peace,
Fr. David+, OA
