Cathedral News
February 5, 2012 Announcements
From the Dean
The call to ministry in the Church is both universal and particular. It is universal in that each and every Christian is called to some form of ministry. We are not Christians, brought into the Body of Christ, to sit on our hands and be inactive. There is no such thing, or isn’t meant to be, as a Christian “couch potato.” The Baptismal Vows (BCP, p. 292) are full of active verbs which call us to ministry: proclaim, seek, serve, persevere, continue, strive. The Catechism of the Church, in answer to the question, “Who are the ministers of the Church?”, states that they are lay people, bishops, priests and deacons. Everyone, in other words, is a minister. Some are ordained to specific ministries, but all are called into God’s service to be mediators of Christ’s love and mercy to the world.
On the other hand, a call to ministry is particular. The priest under whom I first worked, the Very Rev. Jim Leo, once said to me, “An invitation to everyone is an invitation to no one.” He was right; a blanket invitation, generally stated, ignores the specificity of inviting particular people to do particular things. We believe that God gives each of us gifts. St. Paul, in the readings from the twelfth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, teaches quite eloquently about the variety of gifts that God gives, each enlivened by the Holy Spirit. Consider the amazing diversity and abundance of gifts represented in this Cathedral! Given the wealth of talent and gifts here, there is no ministry that we could not engage, should the Lord place it before us.
There will be those who will say that they have not heard a call to ministry. On the one hand, I understand the perception that people have not received a specific call. Too widely held is the perception that only “certain people” are tapped on the shoulder by the Almighty for active ministry. Whether folks think that it is only those with special gifts or the “churchy” people who hear the still, small voice of God calling to them, it is erroneous to think that there is some special subset of Christians called to ministry while the rest are, as it were, left off the e-mail list. For some, they have not heard a call because, quite honestly, they haven’t been listening. Like a person busy with chores on a Saturday morning, the noise of running the vacuum cleaner, washing the dishes, or filling the washing machine drowns out the phone ringing or the voice calling from upstairs. Lots of folks are too busy running the loud machines of everyday life to be able to hear the call of God to ministry. We need to provide times of quiet and reflection when we can listen to God speaking to us. Some will protest that they have heard the call but have no gifts to offer, or that they are too spiritually immature to minister Jesus’ transforming love to the world in any way, small or large. But God has given all of us gifts and provides opportunities to use them and the strength to engage them. Still others have heard a call to ministry and have chosen to ignore it, either out of fear or from apathy or refusal to take responsibility; someone else will do it.
The fact is that God is calling each one of us here, this morning, to active ministry in his Church. None of the reasons given above really suffice to excuse us from answering this call. If we’re too busy, we need to seek quiet time to listen to God. If we’re afraid, we need to trust that God is as good as his promise to give us the opportunities, strength and guidance for ministry. If we’re just apathetic or willing to let someone else do the heavy lifting, then we should revisit Paul’s teaching in First Corinthians, in the twelfth chapter, where he teaches that in order for the Body to work effectively, every member of the Body has to be employed as part of the whole.
We also have to remember that God’s call is not static. That is, God’s calling to us, for a particular ministry, or to exercise a ministry in a specific place, doesn’t stay the same. He will call us to be involved in one ministry for a season, and then in another for a different period of time. I think, for example, of my friend, Fr. James Reho, who served as a Canon on the staff of Trinity Cathedral in Miami, Florida, before hearing a call to serve as Chaplain at the General Seminary, where he now is. In my own ministry, I have continued to feel called to priestly ministry in a parish and Cathedral setting, but God has called me to exercise that ministry in widely diverse locations. It is the same with all of us; God’s call comes to us through the Holy Spirit which, we are told, is like a powerful wind, blowing where it will.
At the 9:00 service today we recognize a number of women of the Cathedral, young as well as more mature, who have answered a new call to ministry. Most all of them, from the Junior Daughters in the group to the most mature, have been involved in other ministries, and they have now heard God calling to them in a new way. Through the Daughters of the King, they have said “Yes” to the invitation to ministry. I pray that they will be an inspiration and challenge to the rest of us to be faithful in the continuance of the ministries in which we are engaged or to cast aside our doubts and preoccupations and be ready to step forward joyfully into that ministry for which each has been given gifts and into which each has been called.
Farewell Breakfast and Reception for Canon Patty Soukup
There will be two opportunities for you to speak with Patty and wish her well this morning, as she prepares to take on new ministries in the diocese. The Cathedral vergers and acolytes have prepared a special breakfast, served in Kaseman Hall between the 9:00 and 11:00 services, and there will be a reception for Patty, following the 11:00 Eucharist. In her new roles, assigned to her by the Bishop, we wish Patty well and Godspeed! We will miss you, Patty, and we look forward to seeing you when you’re here for special diocesan liturgies.