Message From the Rector
The Reverend Andrew Thayer
The Rector's
Corner
Where is Jesus?
There is a series of seek and find children’s books entitled “Where’s Waldo?” where Waldo, dressed usually in red striped hat and shirt is the object of the search. Children’s eyes dart over the page looking carefully at each person until they find the actual Waldo. Looking for Jesus is not like this. Finding an image of Christ is not about searching for the historic Jesus but rather searching each person, and encouraging each person to take on the image of Christ in their own lives. We are all made in the image of God and so are also ready to bear the image of Christ.
Where is the best setting to see this image? You may be disappointed to know that it is usually not in the church service. Church is where you go to learn what to look for. When you hear the Gospel you are hearing how Christ embodied the living God. When you hear Paul’s letters, there too you are learning how to identify the image of Christ. But to regularly see the image of Christ it is often necessary to enfold yourself in a ministry of service to others. Jesus regularly said what I have done for you now you do for others.
Below is a list of the ministries of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. There is something here for everyone. In the next few weeks my goal is to touch base with every parishioner to discuss what ministry they might serve. How they might dive deeper into this growing and exciting community. We’ll talk soon!
Acolytes
Activity Boxes for children (in church)
Altar Bread Bakers
Altar Guild
Architect Committee
Art Camp
Audio
Bell Choir
Birthday cards
Boy Scouts
Breakfast Teams
Bubba Bees BBQ
Bubba Bees
Bulletins
Canterbury
Capital Campaign
Catechumenate
Children’s Chapel
Choir
Christian Formation
Christmas Party
Clay workshop
Columbarium coordinator
Cooking Teams
Daughters of the King
Diocesan Council
Eucharistic Ministers
Eucharistic Visitors
Finance Committee
First Sundays
Flower Guild
Front Desk office Ministry
Funeral Teams
Gardening
Girl’s Night Out
Godly Play
Grant proposal
Grief Support
Hospitality
Implementation Committee
Journaling
Lectors
Lenten Series
Men’s Breakfast Bible Study
Men’s Night Out
Money Counters
Nursery/Childcare
Outreach Committee
Parish Picnic
Photos
Prime Timers
Public Relations Committee
Queen Bees
Retreats
Salvation Army Truck
Sick List/Prayers
Small Groups
Sound System
Special Events
Special Sunday Committee
Stephen Ministry
Stewardship
Sunday School
Supper Club
Suzy Q Quilters
The Academy
The Word/Communication
Ushers
Vestry
Visitor Package
Volunteer in Office
Web Page
Worship Committee
Yoga
Young Adults
Youth Cursillo
“Community Bible Study”
“Family Night”
Greening of Church
Easter Brunch/Flowers
Seder Dinner
Transportation Provider
From the
Associate Rector
“God has a dream. God’s dream is that his children and the whole of his created order will live in unbroken harmony. God longs for us all to enjoy shalom, wholeness, prosperity, love and laughter, joy and humanness, compassion and caring, reconciliation, freedom, justice and fellowship. God enlists you and I and all of us to be his fellow workers, agents of transformation, agents for transfiguration, to transform, transfigure all the ugliness of this world, to help God realize his dream so that the kingdom of this world would become the kingdom of our God and his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
“God enlists you and me and all of us to be his fellow workers, agents of transformation.” I could easily just repeat those words over and over again and this article would be exceptional. These powerful words from a sermon by Archbishop Desmond Tutu should inspire each of us as we go about the life and work of the Church.
What, then, does the Archbishop mean? Bishop Tutu didn’t pull this idea from thin air. The tradition of our active and needed participation in the building of the Kingdom comes directly from the Great Commission. The commissioning of the first disciples appears in all four Gospels, but most famously in Matthew.
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:16-20).
This is the enlisting that Tutu draws on in his sermon. Jesus clearly needs and expects that the Disciples will be part of the spreading of the Kingdom.
But how do we get from the disciples to each of us being enlisted in this action? We are disciples. Disciples are people who are learners. We are Disciples of Christ as we learn and study the teachings and life of Jesus. However, the Great Commission made the earliest disciples Apostles. They moved from learners to teachers. We share in their commission through our baptism. The Baptismal Covenant asks, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons.” As baptized members of the Church, we are always moving between disciple and apostle, from learner to teacher, from one being served to servant. As Tutu said, we are “enlisted in the work of Christ” to restore the world to God.
The only remaining question then is this: how do we live out our commission and faith? There are so many opportunities to enfold yourself into the mission of Christ it is overwhelming. St. Bartholomew’s is an incredibly active parish. We have an extensive list of ministries that can use your skills and talents building the Kingdom. The work that we do as a parish is not just window dressing for membership; it is the very lifeblood of the body of Christ. These ministries are the tools of transformation in our community and the world. The beauty of these ministries is that they also allow you to grow deeper into the life of this wonderful community of people that we have here at St. Bartholomew’s.
God is calling out to each of us, asking for our help. How will we respond to that invitation? In the coming weeks please prayerfully consider how you might live into your baptismal covenant as an apostle of Christ, enfold yourself into the life of the body of Christ, and to become a participant with the Holy Spirit in building the kingdom!