What a Ride! - Thankyou and Goodbye!

You can listen to this sermon here

 Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year B, 2024

Readings:

Palm                            Psalm 1

First Reading:             Acts 1:1-11, 15-17,21-26                    Bible Page 884
Second Reading:        1 John 5:9-13                                      Bible Page 991
Gospel:                        John 17:6-19                                       Bible Page 879

What I want to say:
A sermon to say thankyou
-          To explore the process we are all going through – and that it is ok
-          Use the ascension to invite us all to trust God in all this
-          Offer some thoughts about what the future might be
What I want to happen:
People to embrace all that the liminal space might offer with thankfulness, hope and trust.

The Sermon

1.     Introduction:

Pancake Monday in 2012 – nearly 12 ½ years ago
Bishop David Rice installed me as vicar of Gate Pa
Telling everyone I didn’t know much about vicaring
-         Outraged some
-         Pretty true
Not been part life parish in that way ever
25 years since been curate in Feilding.
Crazy time to start
-         1 day work out how to make ashes and prepare Ash Wednesday service
-         While trying to unpack office
-         And an ecumenical service just to add to the mix.
-         Preparing for services on Sunday
-         And being told I needed to choose music for Sunday
o   What????
-         Preaching about Lent and Jesus being in the wilderness (I’m sure, it was Lent 1)
-         Thinking I felt like I was in the wilderness
-         Thinking I should introduce myself –
-         I’d never preached a first sermon as a vicar before
o   Not sure what I was supposed to do
o   No manual for that stuff.
12 years later feels right my last service is last Sunday in Easter
I know a bit more about being a vicar
You have taught me
Helped me learn
People like Cliff and Joyce were great guides in the early days
-         Trevor Southee offered very helpful advice
-         So many more of you
It has been a blast
Thank you all for your grace and permission
Willingness to try new things
Allowing me to share some of the big moments of your lives with me
These 12 years have been sheer gift
 

2.     Time to go 

But it is time
Met Clark for coffee on Friday
Supposed to be meeting with Erin from Whanau Aroha
Asked me how I was
-         Stressed and sad
-         He was surprised
Stressed – so much still to do
Sad – written my last theme
-          even I was surprised about being sad at that
-         Turns out I enjoyed writing those more than I realised
Also sad at what that represented
I am not happy to be finishing
I just know it is time I let go
Feel called out of this ministry
I have no idea what might be next.

3.     Transitions 

Reading a book Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes

• By: William Bridges, Susan Bridges

Author describes 3 components to transitions
-         Ending
-         Middle
-         New beginnings.
We are in the ending phase.
o   Brings grief
o   Fear
o   Sadness
o   Maybe some resentment
For me leaving will be hard for all kinds of reasons
-         I’m not looking forward to it.
-         Many of you are not looking forward to it
End of so many relationship in way we have related
End to being “Vicar of the Anglican Parish Gate Pa at Pukehinahina”
o   Pretty cool thing to be
o   One of coolest
-         Now just be John, retired grumpy old man
 

4.     Liminal Space

After ending is the liminal space
-         Term come from latin – “limen” means threshold
-         You and I are walking to a door
-         We have no idea really what lies on the other side
-         Place on waiting
-         Place of transition
-         Can be very unnerving
o   Bringing anxiety
o   Confusion
o   Frustration
Will not be an easy place to be.
Need to enter into the place and not rush
But it is a place that opens up new possibilities for the future
Richard Rohr describes this place
“Liminal spaces, therefore, are a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where the biblical God is always leading them. It is when you have left the “tried and true” but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are finally out of the way…... If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait- you will run – or more likely you will explain.”

For a long time I have talked about not having maps for being church in the world we find ourselves in
Now we don’t seem to have a map for the next bit either
But this is something we need to go through to get to the new beginning
If you hang on to how things were
If I hang on to who I was
We will never make it to the new thing God is inviting us into.
Need to embrace the anxiety, the ambiguity, and trust and wait
 

5.     Ascension Sunday and Hope

Thursday was day remember and celebrate the ascension of crucified and risen Christ into God
One your gifts to me is making me make sense of this
-         Ignored it longest time
-         This Sunday keeps coming around
In Incarnation – Divine Eternal Word mingles with our humanity
Jesus is fully human and fully divine
What tradition creeds are all about
Eternal Christ does not put on a human overcoat for a few years and then take it off at the resurrection
All those resurrection stories about – human Jesus being raised
John is particularly clear about all this
At the Ascension Eternal Word in still fully human Jesus returns to God
Our humanity mingles with the divine
Often use ascension to say Jesus returns to God the father
-         is up there
-         at a distance – cue Bette Midler
-         up to use now!
a lot theologians would say exact opposite
because of incarnation and ascension
Divine is all around us
-         In all creation
-         In all people
-         Especially those who seek to live in the way of Jesus
In the Sprit we do not need to enter this liminal space alone
Ascension says we do this with crucified, resurrected and ascended Christ
-         journeys with us
-         waits for us in the new thing ahead
gives me hope for what we are about to do separately
gives me courage to take that step
gives me way of letting go of what has been
-         and embracing what might be
 

6.     What Might the New Look Like for you?

Most of the years of I have been here vestry and others have met to plan each year
Process I have used merge of two processes
-         Begins with best experience of the parish over the last year
-         Named why it was such a good experience,
-         What our strengths and values were revealed to be in that experience
Then described ourselves as
-                     In an expanding community area of Gate Pa, Merivale, Greerton Village, Pyes Pa, The Lakes. Oropi.
-                     Church on the Hill – Anglican Church of Gate Pā
-           On site of battle of Gate Pā
-           People connected with and by love
-           welcoming, equal, inclusive, spiritual,
-           everyone has a place,
-                     all people are minsters.
-                     Offering all:  Non-judgmental, loving, caring welcome,
A light in the community
-                     growing in leadership support for ourselves and offering practical help for our community.
-           Connecting with our community by offering Christian church services, Interfaith Services, Local History Talks, 60 Bells Remembrance Service on our Battle of Gate Pa, Facilities for hire, supporting food bank, offering Senior Chef, with Whanau Aroha and Centrepoint, resthome services, hospital visits.
-           A voice on social justice issues
-           Traditional but progressive in outlook
-                     embracing use of te reo Māori
-                     Educational sermons
 
 CALLED TO BE
An ongoing vibrant and viable church community shaped by Christ within our wider community
-           A wide age range of parishioners
-           Living In Hope – can carry on with a full time vicar
-           Deeply Caring. 
-           Offering people a safety of ritual.
-           Living incarnationally
-           Filling the gap between “if life is not all about me what is it about?”
-           Empowering people to know their gifts and talents
-           Bringing next generation to leadership within the mission and ministry, the services and management of church
-           engaging with children, young people and their families in meaningful ways
We offer a spiritual and historic home 
-           A place of prayer
-           Place of Holiness.
-           A peaceful place
-           A welcoming place for all people and all faiths
Lively use of space
-                     Strengthening whanaungatanga connection between parishioners
-                     Community hub or central point in the community
-                     helping those who have lost their way
-                     brings people here for connection
Historical precinct- place of reconciliation and history.
-           Reconciliation of ourselves
-           Greater activity around 60 bells service.
-           Land issues resolved with respect for all who have a stake in this place
Known as a catalyst for Social Issues
Engaged in Climate Change Action
Advocating non-violence to animals
How do we keep the ‘important ‘parts of our story going, while being open to change?
 

7.     Finally

Trust God in liminal space
Remember – who is God
-         Who are we?
-         What is ours to do?
Thankyou for friendship and care
Thank you for who you all are
I cannot imagine being in anywhere else for these 12 years
It has been a gift
So please join me on 26 as we officially end this relationship
Free each other into liminal space
And all that might offer us
with thankfulness, hope and trust.