Hope in a strange land

We had our AGM for the church on Sunday, after we gathered for Eucharist. We combined our 9.30am with our 8.00am, and it was nice to have us all together for once.

I wanted to offer a few thoughts to frame our AGM so that we were not so concerned with keeping our Parish going. I want us to think less  about ourselves, and to be much more missionally focused. So I used St. Columba, St. Francis (I can always sneak him in somewhere) and the exodus story to posit three questions that we need to work on:

• whose are we
• who are we
• what is ours to do.

I offer the notes for my talk below.

Hope in a strange land

What I want to say:

That we are in a strange land, and we have been for some time

Easy to fear the future and to get locked into how good it was in the past

As we approach AGM it is important to acknowledge that, and not let that shape how we face our future

Need to be more like Columba or Francis

Use the retreat experience to explore what it is like being in this land

Hold on to hope

            Hope based on answers to: whose are we

                                    Who are we

                                    What is ours to do

What I want to happen:

Let go of their anxieties about the future

Embrace hope

Begin to answer for themselves and for this parish the key questions

The Sermon

1.     Introduction:

·        Saturday we remember St. Columba great Celtic Saints of Ireland and Scotland

·        Founder and abbot of Iona Community ,597

o   Tell some story

o   Exiled Scotland – save as many souls as lost battle

·        Established abbey on island Iona

§  Easy access around coast by boat

§  Sent brothers out establish new monasteries

§  Became part of network monasteries across Scotland and Ireland were play significant role in the life church in both places centuries

o   Central role  bringing gospel to Scotland, and eventually those north England through monks on Lindisfarne

o   Realised that not enough keep what familiar with

§  New situation,

§  New land

§  Demanded different thinking

·        Using strengths and best of all known,

·        High degree of creativity

2.     Our situation

·        I like this story because we like Columba live in new land

·        World has changed over the last few decades

·        Get people to talk about who world changed

3.     Retreat with Justin Duckworth

·        Twice - this time realise how much changed outlook

·        Basic flow

o   Comparing our story to story Exodus

o   Left Egypt – familiar good things and not so good things

o   In wilderness

§  Explored what Egypt brought with us

§  What like in wilderness

§  What promised land might look like

§  What some resources we have as we travel through the wilderness

·        first time despondent

·        Now feel very hopeful

4.     Being in the wilderness:

·        Vestry half-jokingly talked a lot about how with new vicar numbers attending will increase dramatically, and that financial worries over

·        Light hearted way, lot laughing

·        Actually there is a lot of truth to what was said

·        Deep down we really want this parish to survive and to be like it was

o   Back in the days when we were in Egypt

·        Future of this parish is uncertain

·        Easy for us to get worried and despondent about that

·        Very easy for me wonder how long I will have a job here

·        Strangely , at this point I am not worried

·        Filled with hope

·        I don’t know if this parish has a future

o   I hope it does

o   Beautiful building

o   We are on important and sacred site

o   Have important role in life Tauranga

o   You are warm and friendly group of people, I am greatly enjoying being among you

·        As I prayed through two retreats realised

·        In the end, future of this church is in God’s hands

·        If we spend all time trying keep church going,

o   pretty much guarantee it will close

·        Just as people Israel remember,

o   We remember that our task in this wilderness is to be faithful

o   In order to be faithful I suggest there are three pivotal questions we parish need to keep working at

§  Whose are we?

·        Belong to God in whom only love

·        God of peace and goodness

·        Story Jesus reminds us that we are created in  image God, people of love, peace and goodness

·        Story includes life, death and resurrection Jesus

§  Who are we? Or who might we be?

§  What is ours to do?

·        Francis on his death bed

·        Applies equally to us today

5.     Conclusion

·        As approach AGM and our future

o   Not worry about keeping the parish going

§  Often be focus AGMs, and parishes

o   Focus instead

§  Given we are now no longer living in Egypt

§  That we are whether or not we want to living in wilderness

§  Focus instead needs to be on what it means to be faithful in this time and place       

·         Remembering whose we are, who we are, and what is ours to do