“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Over the last few weeks, I have been struck once more at how engaged our community is. We have witnessed the marvel that is The Not-So-Spooky Haunted House, thanks to the gargantuan efforts of Dan and Kaja Fickes, their daughters Elise and Kristi, John Lanza, and our incredible parishioners, and children and youth volunteers. I have also seen our Holiday Boutique appear more noticeably on the horizon, as plans are coming together around another major holiday event. We gathered for coffee hour at the Rectory last Sunday, as well as many of our parishioners engaging in our wider community through the Hingham Historical Society’s Tavern Night. Turns out St. John’s has quite the presence there!
Just when things seemed to calm down, I then found myself in meetings with Sunday School leaders, planning this Sunday’s All-Ages Worship and Stewardship Sermon; as well as our Outreach Committee’s meeting, a planning meeting for the South Africa trip, and of course our Wednesday morning Eucharist. And that’s before you get to our Transition Committee’s Wine and Cheese Evenings, the Men’s Group’s monthly meeting, our monthly Finance Committee meeting, and our community’s participation at the consecration of our new Bishop! A few of these events, I confess, I ultimately couldn’t attend because of clashes and, frankly, exhaustion! Oh, and I’m being instituted here on November 19 …!
When I was discerning, interviewing, and then finally preparing for arriving at St. John’s, I knew there would be a great deal of activity. Everyone in this community leads a busy life, to say the least! This was one of the things that inspired Devon and I the most about coming here. One of the great gifts of parish life is precisely what St. John’s does best, and that is, put simply, gathering. Through this we share our gifts and grow in our relationship with God through each of the particular aspects of parish life that draws us in and speaks to us most immediately. And at the heart of all these gatherings is prayer. Whether it is at a social event, a fundraiser, a committee or ministry meeting, or indeed an act of worship in and of itself; prayer is an essential part of each these. And prayer is part of even those gatherings which one might not immediately anticipate being explicitly spiritual or theological.
The last two weeks have felt like journeying a St. John’s “road map.” It began with the Eucharist on Sunday, from which point we left the parish church, going out into the world to engage in all the usual things that occupy our lives. And, in the midst of this, whether you are a priest, an administrator, a doctor, an accountant, or … fill in the blank … you find yourself back in our parish, sharing the gifts that you bring, and which make who you are with the community around you. There’s an interconnectivity between all these elements: a prayerful thread which ties everything together. Each act of gathering connects to another, from worship to social, from Haunted House to fundraising, from Hingham to South Africa and back, from one generation to another. As we move into a busy time of year, and approach a new liturgical year, how we navigate those specific prayerful threads that underlie our shared life will be an important theme, for “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” And I am excited to walk that journey with you.
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist
