Sermon

Please join me in a word of prayer,

Gracious God, on this Thanksgiving weekend, we remember to come together in gratitude for many blessings. We remember those Pilgrims, forbears in faith whose belief in you led them to this land. After a difficult voyage and a hard winter, at harvest time, they gave thanks for their survival and the new life they had found. Their voyage was inspired by your word, a word which still speaks to us today. May your word and the words we share today, remind us of our history, ground us in the present, and help to inspire us as we look to the future, in Christ’s name we pray, Amen 

If you were to go aboard the replica of the ship the Mayflower, which floats in the harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrim mothers and fathers landed in 1620, one of the first things that will likely hit you is how very small was that vessel which brought them to these shores. It is tiny, just about 100 feet in length. During the 2 month crossing, it was home to over 100 people, which as you can calculate, doesn’t allow much leg room, or breathing room.  The boat had to contain all the supplies for the trip as well as the equipment needed to start life in the new world. Since the seas were very rough, people rarely ventured above, on the deck.  Instead they stayed below, suffering strong sea sickness in a warren of small spaces, underneath.  The claustrophobic effect of the close quarters can be felt even as one boards the ship and walks around for a few minutes. What must it have been like to be on that ship, in stormy seas, not knowing what to expect, not knowing if the boat would sink or what life would be like in the new world ? What must it have taken to get on that boat and cross the ocean, for the love of God and the conviction that one’s faith required such a trip into the unknown?

Just a few blocks away from the Mayflower replica is Pilgrim Hall, the museum which holds many artifacts which have survived the trip. Among the objects, some chests, Bible, pottery and beer tankard, is an elaborate cradle.  It is woven quite beautifully, carefully. Made of a light brown willow, it is about two feet long and its height over the baby’s head is about 18 inches. It is surprisingly large, given the small size of the Mayflower. As the museum description explains, such an object was a visible symbol of the commitment of the Pilgrims, that they would live and prosper and raise families in this new land.  This cradle was meant to last, meant to be a place for generations of offspring to lay their heads. It was a bet on the future and an act of faith which the Pilgrims made, prioritizing it even with a very small boat.

Last month, the Pastoral Search Committee gathered us together after worship two Sundays in a row for a conversation about the future of Spring Glen Church. If you participated, you know that there were three questions put to the assembly. First, describe Spring Glen Church as it is today. Then, what would you like to see us become, and finally, what is the role for the new settled senior pastor as we move forward as a congregation. As people talked, one could sense the energy and excitement as folks described what they liked about our church family and how we could grow even more complete in our ministries. The commitment of so many to take the time to help the Pastoral Search Committee in their work is, in and of itself,  a sign of a healthy congregation of people who care about the direction of the church and were willing to spend the time to discuss it. We are well launched though these mutual efforts.

At those meetings, I heard a lot of good ideas but one in particular struck me as crucial. Speaking to the question of the future direction of the church, one person said, --and I am paraphrasing here: I would like to see Spring Glen Church be a beacon of love, faith, and hope for young people. And then that person added, be a city on the hill, quoting the phrase from Matthew we have just heard in our first gospel lesson.  Adding to the discussion, I wondered aloud. I thought Spring Glen Church has the capacity to be a beacon of love, faith and hope, and a city on a hill, a place where people of all ages can find the support they need to flourish as humans, a place where the gospel is proclaimed for the good of all.

This scriptural phrase, A city on a hill,  was taken up  by John Winthrop, Puritan pastor, in a sermon that he delivered to his flock of Puritan colonists were they were still en route to the new world. Like the Pilgrims who came ten years before, the Puritans were trying to create a settlement built on Christian principles.  Winthrop called on his congregation to live up to the call that they had been given.  To lead exemplary lives as Christians. He charged them to live in the gospel way, just as we have heard from our second lesson from Matthew this morning. Take care of the needy, feed the hungry, clothe those who need garments, visit the prisoners, and know that through these gestures, one is doing holy work and meeting God in these persons. Winthrop quotes from the prophet Micah, “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.” Then and only then will the community flourish, and the reward will be great, because others will see how God is working through them.

Winthrop exhorted the Puritans to be worthy of the work that God would have them do so that God’s light would shine.  They were to aspire to be a city on a hill for the good of others, not to bring special status or privilege to themselves.

As Winthrop addressed his congregation, it was as if he was paraphrasing a familiar hymn: they will know we are Christians If we love.

Although we have very different circumstances than these our Congregationalist forbearers, we have similar opportunities as we look to the months ahead in the Pastoral Search. In fact, while it may seem that we are waiting for that day when we will have a new settled senior pastor, the time we have now is a fertile time for our community. And of course we have the benefit of the wise and compassionate leadership of Pastor David, which helps to make this in-between time so rich for us. A most important time.

I was reminded of this when I read a recent interview with Loren Mead, an Episcopal priest, the founder of an organization called the Alban Institute. Alban began in the early 1970’s to bring principles of management consulting and best practices to churches. In that interview, Loren Mead spoke of the time between pastors as an exciting and creative time for a congregation.  The time to face the loss of the previous pastor and decide which way they want to go, a critical turning point, often the most creative moment in a church’s life….

I felt that kind of energy when we gathered for those  congregational meetings. The horizon is open, the sky is the limit. We can play big. We can think of ourselves as a city on a hill, a beacon of hope. We needn’t settle for playing small out of fear or worry that there isn’t enough talent or financial resources to keep us going and thriving. Because there is. We can take aboard our common journey the cradle of commitment to our future.  We need not shut down our options but instead open us to the fullness of what God is calling us to do, to be this beacon for so many who need us.

And who might these be?

First, for our youth, who are facing unprecedented cultural change and need the church to be a place of safety, support and commitment as they mature. It is not an easy time to be young. The internet, busy lifestyles, a global economy and the pressures of educational achievement make it especially challenging to grow up, find one’s bearings, and take one’s place on the great mandala of life. The church, our church, can be a precious resource for families with youngsters. Indeed we already are. Our youth group is active and strong.  Pastor David has stepped in to lead this year, but we will face the question of how to organize and grow this ministry in the years to come. Our challenge is to strengthen this commitment and be an extended family, and place of intergenerational contact. We are doing that: remember a few weeks ago how the folks who went to Queens for a service project led the children’s time? This was a great example of adults, and teens teaching children of the values of our church. Let’s continue to build on our legacy.

Secondly, we can continue to deepen our commitment to be a community which teaches us all how to age gracefully and be supported in this inevitable process. Right now we are doing this, with our lay caregivers group providing visits and care for elders. And as a recent issue of the Yale Divinity publication on aging made clear, there is much for churches to do and to think about for this demographic. How do we support folks in their 50s and 60’s who are in early retirement, who are looking toward the last third of life and are becoming more reflective about meaning in their lives?  How do we support those who are caregivers, and who may themselves need care?  How do we face the hope of a good death, with so many medical options before us which extend life but not necessarily the quality of living? How do we hold each others hands through the end of life?  If there is one institution which is primed to do this work it is the church. We believe that death is not the end, and so we can help the living live fully and face eternity. How will we take up this challenge at Spring Glen Church ?

Surely, we could list every age group in the church and list  those things we could do to grow and strengthen ministries. This is not the time or place to make choices, but to raise to us all the opportunities which await us, be they in Christian action, benevolence, social justice, among young families with Sunday school age children or young adults in their 20-30s.  We also have the sacred task of keeping our building open to the community, clean, green and functional. This building functions as a beacon of light for the many groups which use this space and find healing, growth and fellowship within these walls: the many 12 step groups, the boy scouts and the girl scouts, the DAR and other community groups. They find here an open door and a welcoming smile.

          Like the Pilgrims, like the Puritans, we believe that it is our spiritual life, our faith, our covenant with each other which is the foundation of everything else. If we are to be a city on a hill, bringing light to the community, we must, as they did, tend the fire of our own faith, as we do. For us, worship is central, prayer is the path and Christ is the way.

And because we know this, because we have had the experience of being cradled in God’s love, we want to pass it on.  Because we experience God’s love and call, we can, like our Pilgrim and Puritan forbearers, anticipate and plan for the future in the most optimistic of ways. And live into this call to be a beacon of love, hope and peace for many.

This week, we look forward to our family gatherings around the Thanksgiving table, and we become more aware of all that we have received, the people and circumstances for which we are grateful. And this is right and good in itself, the purpose of the holiday.

And, perhaps, we can use this occasion, as a community, to give thanks going forward, for the ministries we have yet to accomplish,  the work yet undone, the future that God is creating with us. Giving thanks for what is on the horizon, which we cannot fully discern but we have faith awaits us. So that we will continue to shine and become even a brighter beacon of hope, love and peace for many who need us.

Let us give thanks to God for all we have received at God’s hand, and the work which lies before us. In Christ’s name. Amen