January 25, 2009 Sermon
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Epiphany 3 - B (Annual Parish Meeting Day)
January 25, 2009 Emmanuel, San Angelo
Those who like short sermons are in for a treat. Today is the Annual Parish Meeting, so I will be brief. I am so pleased with our direction at Emmanuel. What began as just a normal year certainly ended up as a challenge. Who could have guessed that the economy would go south, stocks would be devalued, the air conditioner would break, the building would be flooded, and the apportionment would go up all in the same year. And what doesn't undo us from outside will certainly threaten us from within, as those who had unexpected illness or loss of loved ones will testify.
Yet through it all God remains in control. At the end of the day I can say that God has blessed and protected us in so many ways. Our programs are excellent. We have growing numbers of children and young families. Our membership is solid. Our stewardship is very good. We have marked influence in this community. In our part of the vineyard we continue to work to glorify the Lord--maybe not as the biggest church in town, but certainly the best. I am so glad to be your Rector, I can truly say that it has been a great year at Emmanuel and we remain in very good shape.
In the opening prayer we read:
"Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the good news of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works..."
Answering the Call and Proclaiming the Good News: How do you think we are we doing those two departments? What would you say is our greatest strength here at Emmanuel?
More than that, how do you think an outsider would judge us? Would she or he see it as a place where the Christ is followed and the call answered? Are we doing our best to welcome everyone? Is God being proclaimed in the things we do...in our prayers, in how we use our resources...in the programs we offer?
I invite you to use the Collect of the Day as a scorecard for judging all the proceedings at the Annual Meeting. Or if you can't come, or are still considering yourself as a visitor, how do you think we are doing?
I firmly believe that the best days lie ahead of us on this journey of faith. This old building has been through depressions, wars, downturns in the economy and conflict many times and has emerged victorious through them all. It is a great place to weather the storms of life. It is after all God's house. And we are God's people.
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