A few weekends ago, the parish vestry and I engaged in our annual mutual ministry review. This year it was led by Fr. Peter Stube, a priest in our diocese, and it had two main purposes: aiding the vestry and rector in gently and prayerfully assessing their shared ministry (holding one another accountable), and helping the vestry and rector take stock of where the parish is and where we hope to go in the future. As part of this mutual ministry review. Fr. Stube reflected on St. Paul’s theology of shared gifts within the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 - 13:13, Paul explains that none of us has all the spiritual gifts. In fact, a blessing of this unequal distribution of spiritual gifts is that we must learn to rely on the grace of God, who gives us every good gift, and then on one another.
Our mutual ministry review was quite encouraging. I saw more clearly how much we are doing in ministry. The vestry and I named perceived strengths of the parish (i.e., worship/liturgy/music, formation, hospitality, and outreach). But we also discussed quite honestly what is needed in order to further enhance those strengths. And I was pleased that no one named money as the primary need to strengthen existing ministry in the parish or even to expand ministry, which I took as a sign of health in the parish. What do we need, then? We don’t need talent, because there’s already a profuse amount of talent within this parish. I would say that time is our greatest need.
It should be obvious that we inhabit an over-scheduled culture, which makes it increasingly difficult to give time to God and the Church. Many of us would say that it’s hard enough to give time to our families and selves. But what would it look like to reprioritize our lives, gently and thoughtfully, so that our families are valued, as well as our jobs and other commitments, while we began to shift more time to God and the Church? The question here is not where we can get more time. Remember, that in God’s abundant provision, we already have exactly what we need to do the work God is calling us to do right now. The time is there, but it’s our task to figure out how to claim it and redistribute it.
Fr. Stube invited us to be patient as we wait for God to send us the right people with the right gifts for ministry in this parish as we live into a growing vision for the parish. In my nearly four years as your rector, I’ve already seen this happen. In the moment, we need to focus on sustaining the large amount of ministry that God has helped us build here. We can still dream about our future and even name those dreams, but it’s perfectly acceptable (and sensible) to wait to act on some of those dreams until we have sufficient gifts and people to realize them.
Building ministry is an exercise in patience. God has loads of time, even though we operate with a scarcity mindset about time. And yet, I know that there are still many untapped gifts within our parish. Perhaps you are new to the parish and want to take some time to find your place here; I fully support that. Maybe you’ve been here for a while and are shy about offering your gifts. Or are you uncertain about what gifts you have to offer? I’m always happy to discuss this further with you.
As we slow down a bit for the summer months, it’s an ideal moment to begin praying about using gifts for ministry at Good Shepherd. In fact, the summer may be the most crucial time to recruit new volunteers to share in ministry, especially as people travel. By sharing the burden together, we ensure that none of us risks burnout, and that this parish remains strong and healthy. Below are some particular areas where we could use more helping hands. I ask you to read through these and consider whether the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart to participate. If so, please email me directly, and we’ll talk about what this might look like for you. Training is provided for all ministries!
Sacristans Guild (formerly Altar Guild): preparing for Sunday and other Masses by setting up vestments and vessels and keeping the sacristies tidy
Laundering Altar Linens: washing and ironing altar linens, which can be done at home
Buildings and Grounds Committee: attending monthly meetings to discuss the careful and responsible stewardship of our wonderful property, and making other contributions as needed
Daily Office: leading Morning and Evening Prayer on an occasional or regular basis, especially during the summer months when I travel
Retreat House: support includes donations of money and time, cooking meals, stopping by to change bed linens, publicizing our offerings, and inviting friends to “like” us on Facebook
As I’ve said before, Good Shepherd is not what it can fully be unless every single one of us is sharing our gifts for ministry. Imagine what we could be doing if that were the case. Would you prayerfully reflect on whether the summer months can be, for you, an opportunity to reorient your life by giving more to God and the Church and saying no to the incessant (and often unhealthy) ways in which our culture demands more and more of us? A significant difference between giving time to “the world/cosmos” and time to the Church is that when we’re using our own spiritual gifts, we are fulfilled in such a way as to avoid burnout. Using our God-given gifts leads to life; feeding the grind of an over-functioning world very easily leads to death. This summer, I invite you to try out the way of life.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle
