Dear Friends,
I sat down at my desk this past Monday morning to begin writing my annual report for our upcoming annual meeting on January 26. It was a curious experience. For one thing, I haven’t been here for a year, and so I had to begin writing in such a way that acknowledged my somewhat limited experience. And yet, as soon as I started writing, I found myself recalling all the things Devon and I have already shared with you all in our mere six months with you. And while my first draft still very much feels like a long list of “thank yous”—which I’m sure isn’t a surprise—it was in the listing of events, the naming of individuals, and the seemingly endless thanksgivings that something special emerged. I became more aware of what holds this place together.
So, what holds this place together? Well, God, obviously. But how? One of the things that struck me, indeed as we were saying farewell to Buffy Gray on Sunday, was the deep interconnectivity of this parish. One of the hardest things to establish in any community, let alone a parish church, is a culture where people are genuinely embedded in each others’ lives in ways which are healthy, pastoral, and fruitful; where people truly care about each other, and where the connectivity is authentic and unforced. It may sound funny to say, but one of the most difficult jobs any parish has is nurturing such a Christian relationality; not because people, or indeed priests are that difficult, but because, especially in a wider culture of suspicion, skepticism, and irony, fostering such deep relationships is unusual, to say the least. And yet, it is possible. One of the great gifts of St. John’s, especially for someone entering the community afresh, is that this deeper level of engagement is already prevalent and heartfelt. It’s organic, and you sense it as soon as you walk through the door. And from there, having established that level of connection, one can then set about the “business” of worship, spirituality, and prayer in ever new ways.
Indeed, this is another unusual aspect of St. John’s. From the theological point of view of many in parish ministry, such community is often seen as the product of worship rather than something which we then bring to worship. Yet, as someone remarked to me recently, what often currently brings people through the door of St. John’s is the sense of community, and from there the worship begins. Those of you who first discovered this community through the Not-So-Spooky Haunted House, the Holiday Boutique, Summerfest, or one of our many social gatherings, for example, will perhaps testify to this. And so, we begin from a different angle, where community brings together the people for worship, and this is not unusual in the contemporary church. However, here lies our task as a parish: whatever may bring one through the door, how can we then nurture that sensation of being compelled? Once we are together in worship, how do we then grow that connection? Put in more spiritual terms, how do we pray? And how do we go on praying even when we leave? It is in questions such as those that we discover the heart of our shared journey in the heart of God.
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist
