Vibrancy
/But who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? -Malachi 3:2
George Frideric Handel knew a great bible verse when he saw one. This verse from Malachi was used as the libretto of one of the well known movements of Handel’s Messiah. It was through listening to Handel that it became one of my own favorite verses. I love the both/and quality of this verse - God’s appearance is both glorious and also like a refiner’s fire, like fuller’s caustic soap. God’s presence scrubs us clean but can also scrub us raw. God’s appearance in our lives can be both wonderful and terrible. Because when God shows up, stuff happens! Are you ready? Will you be able to stand up when God asks you to stand, even if it’s a challenge?
This Sunday is our annual meeting Sunday, and in addition to our regular agenda of hearing some reports and doing some voting, we’ll also be thinking about how God has been showing up among us here at St. James lately. Where have you seen God at work among us? What new thing is God up to all around us? How are we joining in with God’s mission in our neighborhood? What is changing and growing among us and between us?
Sometimes, as Malachi so deftly put it, we recognize God’s presence best in those areas in which we feel deeply challenged. A mentor always used to tell me, “Face it, comfort is not a prime Christian value.” Nonetheless, we know that God’s vibrant presence, which can certainly often challenge us, can also bring us closer to the heart of God and to our neighbors. Life in God is challenging, yes, but also rich and abundant - vibrant!
The Rev. Canon Gail Avery will be with us this Sunday to invite us into a new process she and Canon Ambrogi are using across the diocese to assess the vibrancy of congregations. In what ways are we “juicy” and in what ways are we a little dried up? In which areas are we close to God’s call to us and in which areas are we simply relying on the way we’ve always done it? She will guide us through taking a survey about vibrancy at St James, and then over lunch will lead us in conversation about our church. This will be how we will conduct our mutual ministry review together this year and I think it will lead to some juicy conversations. I hope you will be able to join us. All are welcome from newcomerrs to old-timers.
