“My brothers and sisters whom I love and I long for.” I resonate like never before with these words of St. Paul that we just heard. My brothers and sisters, my siblings in Christ, you the people of St. Mary’s whom I love and I long for, I miss you. I miss being together, in person, at the church, crowded together, singing hymns, greeting one another with the sign of the peace, kneeling side by side to receive the Sacrament. I miss you.
Paul is writing his letter because he misses the people. He wants to connect with the people in Phillipi and help them grow in their faith. He cannot be there with them in person, so he uses the technology that he had: pen, parchment and papyrus, roads, and ships. He connected, not as ideal as being in person certainly, but it was what was possible. Sound familiar? It was what he did and it is what we have to do. Our technology is different, of course, but it is the same. We are trying to grow in our faith and stay connected to one another while we are physically separate.
In our first reading today Isaiah talks about God as a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. God is our refuge during this storm, or these storms, I think, to be a bit more precise. In the midst of these raging storms of this year, we have a shelter that can withstand the wind and the rain and whatever else the storm my throw our way. This image of refuge is not just about what God offers directly, but about what God is trying to offer through us. We are part of the refuge of God, the refuge that God provides. We who are the body of Christ have to find ways to offer refuge to people struggling and in need, to embody the refuge of God in the rain and the heat. And so, we continue our ministry. It necessarily looks different. It’s in a video or over Zoom or a telephone call or in a physically distanced, masked, small number in person gathering. But it continues, providing refuge for this moment. Refuge in prayer, refuge in music, refuge by feeding the hungry, nourishing bodies with a meal, refuge by feeding minds in our various educational programs, refuge in relationships sustained and deepened as we face these storms together.
As you know, we are currently in our annual pledge drive. Forward in Faith Together is our theme. As part of the pledge drive, I have been collecting stories to share with you of how our parishioners are finding connection, examples of how they are moving Forward in Faith Together. Generally, I planned to share these reflections after the sermon, but today I want to share three stories with you right now in the middle of the sermon because I think these stories reflect what these readings are getting at. They speak to being connected in times of physical distance. They show us that community is possible in the midst of a pandemic that keeps us physically from one another. They reflect the refuge that God offers us in the midst of these storms. Let’s go visit three of our parishioners and hear their stories.
Hatsue: Hello. My name is Hatsue. I have been a member of St. Mary’s since August of 2016. I sing in the choir and I serve as a Saturday Breakfast volunteer. In the middle of the pandemic I have found ways to stay close to God in Zoom Morning and Evening Prayers. The most valuable gift God has given to me through these prayers is that I have found new friends and become more connected to friends I had known. There are reflections and Bible interpretations that give new perspectives to my faith in Christ. I treasure the time we pray together. Because of St. Mary’s, this has been possible, so please join me in supporting our home, St. Mary’s, wholeheartedly. Forward in Faith Together. Thank you.
Melissa: When St. Mary’s transitioned to online services, it was important for me to remain a part of my parish. The video services allow me to do this. When they began, I wanted to make sure I felt like I was still attending church. On the evening before the first Sunday I was throwing around ideas. I remembered Sidi, a WWII British Army veteran. About fifteen years ago, we had been active in St. Pixels, an online Christian community based in the UK. He had been unable to leave his bedridden wife, so he had listened to services on his radio. Sharona, a home bound member residing in Los Angeles, had been frustrated that she had not been able to participate in her local congregation anymore. What Sidi had been doing helped her to discover that you don’t have to go to church to be at church. These memories helped me create an altar on my kitchen table. I prepared it by transforming a number of objects in my home to communion items. A napkin became a corporal, one of my great grandmother’s candy dishes served as a paten, pieces of an old bedsheet were stitched to be the purificator and lavabo towel. When I came downstairs the next morning, I was surprised that I felt I had arrived at St. Mary’s. I initially hadn’t planned on writing a post about it on Facebook. The uplifting experience prompted me to share pictures I had taken with my cell phone of the altar and the items on it. Including descriptions of them increased my awareness that we aren’t restricted by what we have or where we are. What is important, as is included in our parish’s website, is to worship, serve, and grow in faith. The flowers are rearranged grocery store bouquets. Sometimes I make them myself and I fill my vases, sometimes pitchers or Mason jars. When postludes end, I take pictures to capture the decorations before putting everything away. The photos are then transferred to my weekly reflections on Facebook. Following the Liturgical calendar guides me through visually depicting the sequences of the seasons. It has led me to focus on how we are always exploring our relationship with God. It also reminds me St. Mary’s community is among us. I give thanks that, while we are physically distant, we still are spiritually connected.
Meredith: St. Mary’s has always been an important part of our lives, providing community and support to our family. Although we’ve been physically apart these past months, St. Mary’s has been more important to our family now than ever. Even though being apart is hard, my family and I value the way St. Mary’s is taking every precaution to protect the members of the church and its staff, while maintaining strong connections with parishioners. I was both amazed and grateful for how quickly St. Mary’s shifted to online streaming worship, faster than most community or public services I know of early on in the pandemic. I continue to be impressed and thankful for the creativity and dedication of St. Mary’s staff for finding ways to make faith connection and a sense of love and community while we remain physically apart. We especially appreciate the online streaming services and the Sunday School options for our small children. To me, the phrase Forward in Faith Together means a continuation of that creativity and dedication to our St. Mary’s family. It means that as a church we can work together to maintain relevant and timely services that support our community, as well as to continue to adapt to whatever comes next. Our pledge will be given in gratitude to what St. Mary’s has already provided to our family and in hope for the future.
Thank you for sharing with us the ways that you are connecting with St. Mary’s during this time, ways that you are continuing to worship, serve, and grow in faith. For me, as I hear these stories, I think of the refuge that God provides, the refuge that is embodied in our ministry, in our relationships, in our connections in Christ bound by the Holy Spirit. These are a refuge in the storms of this time. Thank you.
Our readings do not just suggest that God is a refuge from the storm, but they also offer us hope that the storm will cease. And this storm, it may be hard to imagine it, but this particular storm will cease, and we will return and see each other, in person, at the church, crowded together, singing hymns, greeting one another with the sign of the peace, kneeling side by side to receive the Sacrament. Isaiah offers us today that beautiful image of hope in the heavenly banquet with the well-aged wine and the rich foods. That feast where the shroud cast over all the peoples is destroyed. That feast where every tear is wiped away. That feast where death is swallowed up forever.
As we endure the ordeals of this moment. we remember that we are a people of hope. A people of resurrection. Even as we face the storms of this particular moment, we must keep our eyes on the horizon of that hope so that we can keep moving Forward in Faith Together.
AMEN
