Yesterday I was at a kayak regatta on the lower mainland with my older son and teammates. I’ve noticed each one of these races is different depending on which teams show up. The first race we went to was in Nanaimo with overcast skies and rain for about six hours. Regatta sounds fancy but there is nothing fancy about standing in the rain all day at a lake in Nanaimo. Yesterday was a gathering of teams of the Pacific Northwest including Washington State and Oregon. The teams from Seattle and Gig Harbor rolled up with impressive boat trailers. Gig Harbor has their team name emblazoned on the side and a list of all the years in which they have won national championships in the US. I became concerned that our kids from the South Island were up against much greater competition than some had seen before. Victoria and Nanaimo teams joined forces to have enough paddlers to compete against bigger teams. And the island clubs are good, but I found the bigger teams with nice gear intimidating.
On top of that we showed up late and we’re up against teams that look ready to field athletes for the Olympics. I wondered how this was going to go. Then the Victoria coach showed up who was also running late. And I realized there was a whole day of races ahead of us. This wasn’t the only race. It was going to be okay. The coach told the athletes to focus on the races ahead. He got the kids to concentrate on what they came to do. It was important to shift focus away from feeling harried or disappointed. What mattered was that they were here together and for kids to give races their best shot. Thankfully the races went well for the kids that day.
One takeaway for me is that there will be times when we aren’t sure if we’ve got it altogether. There will be days when we show up late and feel harried. There will be days when we don’t feel we’ve got it all together. That’s true in our daily lives and it’s also true in ministry. That will be true at times in this time of transition.
Last Sunday was a rollercoaster of a day with worship as we honoured Pr. Lyle’s ministry at Church of the Cross with the lunch and words of thanksgiving. It was a long weekend and come Tuesday morning it was a new reality for me that Pr. Lyle wasn’t down the hallway looking after untold details as per usual. Nevertheless Marc, Donna, and I were there.
I also received e-mails from many of you as we seek to create short-term positions for people to help with the youth group, campus ministry and visiting homebound people and elders. These follow the success we’ve had with supporting Sunday School teachers this past year.
When I think about what gives me hope isn’t that we’ve got it altogether or that we have all the answers. It’s that there is place for everyone to participate and contribute to ministry together in different ways. I think of the epistle reading from James that asks us not to judge people if they are poor or are on the margins. But rather that we seek to learn from people who are poor or are on the margins. God seeks to enrich us with the faith of those who have riches we often overlook. People whose lived experience enriches ministry and enriches lives. But we need to stop and notice it. This is one of the biggest takeaways for churches in the past fifty years. We haven’t always done a good job listening to the diversity of voices in our midst. That is true for all denominations. In a time of transition when we need more hands on deck to help with the work, it’s an opportunity to hear from more voices.
To name one example I think about the conversation about Praying Friends I had with Susanne and Allyson. It was a chance to listen to what we’ve heard from people of what works and what could be different. I’m excited that as a team we’re trying a different approach this year that we heard a little about during the children’s time, again during announcements, and an article in Crossroads in an upcoming week. One difference is hearing from different voices, trying different things, with the hope of including more people in the community.
I also think about these months while the Shelbourne Community Ktichen has been under renovation. We’ve had more people coming past the church office acccessing the Kitchen in the upper hall on Wednesdays and Fridays. A reminder of the diversity of people in our neighbourhoods. And as The Kitchen reopens in the space downstairs, there will be opportunities for us to join in their community meals in the future. An opportunity to build relationships with people on the margins, people struggling with food security. Many of the folks I’ve met are refugees and immigrants. I’ve had the chance to share with children a sticker and a snack. Relationships I hope we can continue to build.
I am excited about the opportunities we have before us. We bring our selves to church and around the table with all our whole selves. We bring whatever we are struggling with, the fact that school is hard, wondering whether we are good parents, negotiating issues in the workplace, financial or career struggles, retirement and negotiating having either too much or too little happening, concerns we have for adult children, family, and friends. Jesus loves us for our whole selves. Not for being perfect, not for seeming to have it all together. Jesus loves us for who we are right now. And sometimes we have a hard time accepting grace, accepting God’s unconditional love. And that’s okay too. We don’t need to beat ourselves up about grace. These are all human responses. Because we are human just like the disciples.
God’s desire is for us all to be lifted up in our shared life together. Ministry isn’t just a bunch of tasks we need to complete. But an opportunity to serve one another, serve neighbours, and serve God. In a recent council meeting Erik used the phrase, “Serving is a privilege” and I think that’s true. God’s love for us sets us free to serve together. And I look forward to the adventure together ahead!
Wrapping up, just like at a regatta it can be intimidating when there are other teams who seem to have it all together. When other people seem to have a bigger, better setup. It doesn’t mean they’ve got it all together. It doesn’t mean they don’t have fears and anxieties too. And as James reminds us, not to forget the voices on the margins who don’t have the bling. Voices who don’t attract the same attention. That we have things to learn from them in faith we can’t learn from anyone else.
Any may the grace and love of God for you be enough this day. Amen.
