Seeking_Faith

Part Two of the Rector’s Annual Report by the Reverend John E. Kitagawa at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, 24 January 2010 (Third Sunday after the Epiphany, and Annual Meeting Sunday II), St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona

SEEKING FAITH: TRUE, REAL & WORTH LIVING TO EXTREME[1]

Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10; I Corinthians 12: 12-31a; Luke 4: 14-21

From time to time, St. Philip’s Program Staff gathers off-campus to plan and to discuss a variety of strategic ministry concerns. We did so on Thursday, and began a conversation about St. Philip’s future, especially in relationship to up-and-coming generations. Our discussion was assisted by reading provided by Garmon Ashby. We became familiar with the G.I. generation, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials. We learned about characteristics that makes each unique. What became obvious is the need for differing approaches and appeals to each generation. Advertisers and public relations people are already expert in doing this. We are not. We need to, if St. Philip’s is to continue being vibrant and faithful long into the future.

Let me tell you why the up-and-coming generations are important and not threatening, and why we need to better understand what research is telling us about them. Excerpts from Hungry Souls, Holy Companions: Mentoring a New Generation of Christians[2], by Patricia Hendricks offers insight. Hendricks writes about questions on the minds of youthful seekers:

Who is God in relation to my life, and does it matter?
Who is Jesus?
Does religion still matter?
Can I trust God?
Can I trust the Church? There are so many stories of abuse in the news.
Why do I have to believe in Christ? What about my Muslim friend?
Is Jesus the only way to God?
Is being a Christian the only way to Jesus?
The world has told me who I am, but who am I in God? And how do I grow into that?
What about homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research?

Do you hear echoes of age-old questions you and I wrestle with too? I am very thankful that we, at St. Philip’s, can honestly cite important ways we are “there” for people of different generations, and their struggles with these kinds of questions, and their desire to connect faith with daily life. As research indicates, large congregations are better able to respond sensitively to diverse segments of the population as long as two things are true. Large congregations have the ability to do “additive programming”[3], in other words to develop new initiatives that respond to a segment of the population, without detracting from programs that serve others. Our recent initiatives with family-friendly worship, and with elder care ministry are two good examples. The second essential ingredient is the whole community’s trust and investment of time, talent and treasure, grounded in our common rooting in Christ, and a shared vision guiding seemingly different expressions of ministry.

Part of Thursday’s staff discussion was sparked by bullet points from The New Faithful, by Colleen Caroll[4]. She reports what young believers seek:

… identity centered on religious beliefs, and morality derive[d] from their beliefs.
They yearn for mystery and tend to trust their intuitive sense that what they have found is true, real, and worth living to the extreme.
They seek guidance and formation from legitimate sources of authority …
They strive for personal holiness, authenticity and integration in their spiritual lives and are attracted to people and congregations that do the same.

When we reflect on this research, we can easily respect, and in fact, identify with what young believers seek—an identity centered in religious belief; morality derived from religious belief; a sense of mystery; a faith that is true, real and worth living to the max; authentic sources of guidance and formation; personal holiness, authenticity and spiritual integration. Most of us can agree that these are faith-journeys well worth taking. So, can we be flexible enough and visionary enough to support and empower up-and-coming generations with styles of ministry and worship many of us might not immediately resonate with?

I want to go back to the last phrase of the final bullet point about young believers. They are attracted to holy, authentic, spiritually integrated people and congregations. That is a challenge. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Are we, personally and as a community, holy, authentic and spiritually integrated? Our vision statement, printed on the Sunday bulletin, seems consistent and congruent. But, are we authentically living up to and into the vision?

Here, I want to repeat a point I made Christmas Eve. There are significant consequences when God’s people do not develop or help others develop profound and transformative connections with the angels’ “Good News of Great Joy”. There are powerful consequences when people do not “center their lives in religious beliefs and ground their morality in those beliefs”, or when people do not find a faith “worth living to the extreme”. Such consequences are spoken to in a powerful and relevant quotation from General Omar Bradley[5]. In a 1948 Armistice Day speech, General Bradley said:

We have too many [people] of science, too few [people] of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. … Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living[6].

“We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about

living”. These haunting words give a sense of urgency to fulfilling the previously discussed

yearnings and hope embodied in faith-seekers of all generations.

I am going to keep to my theme but shift the focus a little. “Spam guard” eliminates a lot, but I still get lots of email every day. Among the messages are all sorts of invitations. Recently, an invitation to the “Externally Focused Church Conference” caught my eye. This is the headline question that caught my attention: “IF YOUR CHURCH VANISHED...?” The “blurb” reads:

The guiding question of Externally Focused Churches is, "If my church vanished, would my community care?" Unfortunately, for most churches the answer is "No." Oh sure, the people who attend those churches would care. But the city leaders wouldn't care. The schools wouldn't care. The business leaders wouldn't care. The community's non-profit agencies wouldn't care. The public servants wouldn't care. The down-and-out [and] … the least and the lost wouldn't care.

Sadly, I know from my experience as Canon to the Ordinary in Maryland, there is truth to this. For example, I remember well the day that a small urban church installed new glass doors so the sanctuary could be seen from the street. A neighbor came out of his rowhouse across the street, and said, “oh, I didn’t realize you guys were still open for business.” It did not sound like he particularly cared one way or the other.

Let me pose the obvious follow-up question: If St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish vanished, would anyone notice and/or care? My answer is an unequivocal “yes”. We make a real difference to a host of non-profit agencies and the diverse people they serve and advocate for—poor people, hungry people, hurting people, immigrants, refugees, people putting their lives back together, and so on. We feed a lot of people through our food closet, Casa Maria sandwich making, and Migrant Packs. We serve and assist with students at four schools in a variety of ways. Last Fall, St. Philip’s Phamily was a presence at the Desert Pride parade and festivities. We are looking into developing ministries with seniors, not only for our members, but reaching out the community too. And, the list of parish sponsored ministries goes on. We host life-changing community groups like numerous 12-step recovery programs. A few days ago, I was having coffee with a parishioner at AJ’s. A friend recognized her and I was introduced to this friend and her companion, who instantly spoke glowingly about the Divorce Recovery Program we host a couple times a year. At another recent chance encounter, I was told about the significant difference made by a memorial service sponsored by a hospice organization, and held here on our “peaceful and spiritual” property. Last week, I asked you to think about ways your life has been touched and transformed through your membership at St. Philip’s. I appreciate those of you who have taken to the time to share some of your stories with me. At the same time, as you recognize what being in community at St. Philip’s means to you and your family, you need to appreciate how deeply this community touches and transforms the lives of so many people we do not know or see, in ways we cannot know from numeric tallies on reports.

I speak of these things to form the context for today’s Annual Meeting, Part II. At 10:15 am meeting, we will hear some grim budget numbers that will seriously curtail our ministries, and negatively impact the lives of faithful staff members. At a minimum, this requires us to distinguish that which is essential to being Christ’s Body in the world, that which is of primary importance, and that which is good to do if we can. You can listen to these things and get down about them; or, you can hear them as new opportunities to commit and engage, or to re-commit and re-engage in ways that will help maintain the momentum, vitality and impact of the really important work we do. Let me suggest five positive responses. 1) You can sign up for the Ministry Development Workshop to be held on Saturday, 6 February 2010. This day-long workshop is about ways to identify passions and talents, and how to connect those passions and talents with ministry—see bulletin page 29 for details. 2) Today’s budget discussion offers another kind of opportunity. A member of the Finance Committee has calculated that an increase of $6 per week per pledge would pretty much close the gap between revenues and the expenditures that result in significant reductions in staff ministry. You can make a difference in this arena. 3) As you think about journey in faith, open yourself to ways St. Philip’s resources can increasingly feed the core of your being. As you deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ and one another, you will realize this faith is “true, real, and worth living to the extreme.” That kind of conversion will lead you to do what you can so others can share similar experiences. 4) Another opportunity is to support planning and efforts to attract and retain members of the up-and-coming generations, or at least, be flexible enough to understand that underneath new or different packaging is the same intention to draw people closer to Christ Jesus, and to help integrate faith and life. 5) Another opportunity is for you to bring the unchurched people in your lives to St. Philip’s; to be among the holy and authentic mentors who initiate them into the Body of Christ; and, to help guide them in connecting faith in Christ and their lives.

During the deliberations of our 75^th Anniversary Committee, it has been pointed out several times that this parish was founded during the Great Depression. Let us honor St. Philip’s founders, inspired by their vision, faith and courage to lay the foundation and set the course for a parish that continues being “a strong and loving community that welcomes, encourages, and empowers all to grow in Christ and to do God’s work in the world”.

AMEN.