CHRISTMASTIDE/EPIPHANY - AD 2003
Not quite sure who decided this, but there are some things that need saying about participation in the life of the church; turns out they have already been said in my "farewell address" in 1994, when I was retiring as Senior Warden. Check it out and see if some or all applies today:
* * *
"Build your house on Vesuvius." The sage that said this had in mind that by incorporating a little danger in your life, you heighten your senses and improve the quality of your existence. Not a bad thesis, but the problem today is finding somewhere as benign as Vesuvius to make your home.
We built our house in Cambria. At the time, it seemed the farthest thing from an active volcano; then we accepted the position of Warden and Mrs. Warden . We had to alter our preconceived idea of ourselves and retirement in order to take the job. You have made us work. You have made us worry. You got us to write, think, manage, and sing. Most of all, you have taught us to love in a way we might never have understood had we decided to play it safe and say, "No." We have learned that frailty in others is not an affront, but rather a reflection of our own humanity, the humanity that our Lord comes ever to redeem, the humanity that seems almost incapable of coming to terms with a loving God. You didn't know you could do all this, did you? Well, now you have to do it all over again with a new Warden, except this time you have us to help.
St. Paul's Church is more than a Vicar, a Warden, sermons, music. It is more than the few who do most of the work, the rest who help or just come to church. It is the sum-total of all those with whom we have prayed and lived and loved and died. It is an amalgam of an infinite number of personal and corporate victories and failures. Remember this when you "become discouraged or sorrowful ... and in our hearts may God's peace, which passes understanding, abide all the days of our life."
* * *
Here we are back in 2003, older but not much wiser. There has never been regret for the time spent serving the Church; frustration, disagreement, but always a generous measure of all the good things mentioned above. A formidable type of service is going to the Triennial Convention of the National Church next July. Frustration and disagreement will likely abound there. I also expect to find a great many good things. Your prayers that I may understand and contribute will be appreciated. Work for the Church; the pay is bad, but the rewards are many. Happy New Year!
James "Noah" Wilson