August 30, 2009 Sermon
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Proper 17 - B 2009
Dt. 4:1-9;
Allan Conkling Emmanuel, San Angelo
Today is not an official holiday of the church but at Emmanuel it might as well be. The long hot summer takes its toll on church attendance all across the city of San Angelo. Rally Sunday is our day to officially welcome everyone back from summer vacation and kick off the fall programs for children, teens and adults. Oh sure, people would be coming back anyway, and really Sunday school would begin whether or not we had any celebration. But even old Moses knew that everyone needs a gentle reminder now and then to keep them on track with their faith:
"But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children."
That is what we are doing: keeping our faith alive. It may seem like a simple thing to have our EYC cook breakfast for our 8 o'clockers, but it brings the two groups together. One day this building will be theirs. They will be seated where you are, and their children will be doing as they are. Those children will have been shaped and molded by the example of love, community fellowship, and service they have seen and known in this place.
This Rally Day is special as it also is the kick off of our 125th Anniversary. All this month we will focus our attention on our history. It was in October of 1884 when Bishop Elliott came for his first pastoral visit to this congregation. A hundred and twenty five years later Bishop Scott Mayer will make his first visit on September 27. I hope this visit will be one that is remembered 125 years from now!
I am sure that we will be reminded by the Bishop that the true church is not made up of bricks and mortar, but people. It was the hard work and dedication of the parishioners of Emmanuel that kept this parish alive during the Great Depression through two world wars. It was the countless prayers from these pews that brought reconciliation and healing during the turbulence of the 1960's and '70s. The winds of change in our Episcopal denomination for the past three decades have at times buffeted us but prayer, and a good dose of West Texas sensibility have, so far, been successful in keeping us from losing our direction. The words of St. James still seem so relevant:
"Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger."
And:
"Be doers of the word and not merely hearers..."
Each one of us has been given gifts which can be brought to bear not just in this place but wherever we find ourselves: with friends, in our families, at our places of employment and at school. And when we gather as members of the Body of Christ we are reminded that our strength comes not from within ourselves but from God. In every situation where trials and temptations abound, where the poor suffer, where the weak are put down; in times of illness separation or loss of income--in all these, the faithful respond to the liberating word of God with joy, endurance, wisdom and patience. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
"Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..."
Our ancestors could look to the heavens and to the change of seasons in a way that we moderns cannot. Unlike the light given off by the sun or the moon their Creator is unchanging;
"There is no variation or shadow due to change." Does this Rally Day call us back to a simple faith? I hope so. What I hope that we convey through our service, through the Holy Communion, in the beauty of our music and our liturgy is thankfulness for just being here today.
In the 1880's services were held on the last weekend in August in a wooden church building at what now is the parking lot of Blaine's Pub, with music being played on a pump organ. Mr. and Mrs. Pulliam, and Capt and Mrs. Cunningham hosted ice cream socials on their lawns. Sherry ice cream was a specialty of the Episcopal Church women. I bet it was! Today we have Communion music by the Mesquite Trio. Our children return to Sunday School. In all we do may God be glorified, and may the Good News be proclaimed from this place for many years to come.
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Revised: 09/06/09