A Monthly Article from the Vicar, July 2021
The Rev. Drew Foisie, Vicar
“I am convinced that all human beings have an inborn desire for God . . . this desire is our deepest longing and our most precious treasure.” - Gerald May
As I write this July is still ten days out, pandemic restrictions to our worship remain largely in place, and questions about whether and how Washington state will reopen on June 30th are many. Nonetheless, July is a happy and hopeful thought. The very idea of sun and warmth and more open and free fellowship is a welcome one. If there’s anything I’m convinced of it’s that we were all built for connection and for love. And though love and connection usually find ways to reach beyond the boulders and barriers placed in their path, whether out of temporary necessity or something else, it’s glorious when the path can be cleared and made a highway. The prophet Isaiah said, “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God.” Creating space and clearing the way for connection, light, love, and grace is the unfolding work of God’s kingdom in all times and places. As often as the church is gathered in Christ’s name for the purposes of prayer and thanksgiving and service to God and neighbor the church is engaged in highway building for Love’s sake.
Occasionally, on those days when traffic lights are an unbearable thought, I dream of an uninterrupted highway that could whisk you from Camano to I-5 and back again in two minutes. Sometimes the crawl through Stanwood is too much, however beautiful our little town is. I wonder if the crawl through life’s storms and red traffic lights is too much for some of God’s children in our midst. What highways might be built to move them toward an experience of holy and life-giving grace? As far as I can tell, most of the time, such paths are cleared and constructed with food. Bread. Sustenance for the body. In fact, I can’t recall a time Jesus passed up an opportunity to sit down for a meal with either friends, neighbors, strangers, or the spiritually hungry. Christ knew in the deepest sense that “man does not live on bread alone,” which is also to say he can’t live without bread. It’s no wonder that his most famous miracle is, perhaps, the feeding of the five thousand. This is why, I think, I’m so very excited that our feeding ministry at The Gathering Place is starting back up again. It follows in the footsteps of Jesus who cared for the whole person, the neighbor and the stranger alike.
But the miracle of the meal is not only in the bread, but in the table. The face-to-face encountering of another. Presence. Dignity imparted by a listening ear, an understanding heart, and a gentle hand. The church, and every member God has called into her fellowship, is a gift from God given by God for the life of the world in Christ’s name. The Spirit within us that we share with others is also food, indeed.
As we begin to regather after a long, and arguably very traumatic, pandemic we may need to practice a ministry of presence to one another again. To sit across the table from one another and hear each other’s stories of joy and pain, new life and loss. For surely, as the full community gathers again without restriction, we will discover that we have been changed by the last year or two in ways we did not, and could not, see before. There may be some that we don’t see return at all. There may be others that are brand new and that we haven’t met. Each of us have bread to share and bread we need to receive. As we move into this new phase a new and large table will be set, around which all may gather, and be fed.
Grace and Peace to you.
Yours In Christ,
Drew+
As I write this July is still ten days out, pandemic restrictions to our worship remain largely in place, and questions about whether and how Washington state will reopen on June 30th are many. Nonetheless, July is a happy and hopeful thought. The very idea of sun and warmth and more open and free fellowship is a welcome one. If there’s anything I’m convinced of it’s that we were all built for connection and for love. And though love and connection usually find ways to reach beyond the boulders and barriers placed in their path, whether out of temporary necessity or something else, it’s glorious when the path can be cleared and made a highway. The prophet Isaiah said, “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God.” Creating space and clearing the way for connection, light, love, and grace is the unfolding work of God’s kingdom in all times and places. As often as the church is gathered in Christ’s name for the purposes of prayer and thanksgiving and service to God and neighbor the church is engaged in highway building for Love’s sake.
Occasionally, on those days when traffic lights are an unbearable thought, I dream of an uninterrupted highway that could whisk you from Camano to I-5 and back again in two minutes. Sometimes the crawl through Stanwood is too much, however beautiful our little town is. I wonder if the crawl through life’s storms and red traffic lights is too much for some of God’s children in our midst. What highways might be built to move them toward an experience of holy and life-giving grace? As far as I can tell, most of the time, such paths are cleared and constructed with food. Bread. Sustenance for the body. In fact, I can’t recall a time Jesus passed up an opportunity to sit down for a meal with either friends, neighbors, strangers, or the spiritually hungry. Christ knew in the deepest sense that “man does not live on bread alone,” which is also to say he can’t live without bread. It’s no wonder that his most famous miracle is, perhaps, the feeding of the five thousand. This is why, I think, I’m so very excited that our feeding ministry at The Gathering Place is starting back up again. It follows in the footsteps of Jesus who cared for the whole person, the neighbor and the stranger alike.
But the miracle of the meal is not only in the bread, but in the table. The face-to-face encountering of another. Presence. Dignity imparted by a listening ear, an understanding heart, and a gentle hand. The church, and every member God has called into her fellowship, is a gift from God given by God for the life of the world in Christ’s name. The Spirit within us that we share with others is also food, indeed.
As we begin to regather after a long, and arguably very traumatic, pandemic we may need to practice a ministry of presence to one another again. To sit across the table from one another and hear each other’s stories of joy and pain, new life and loss. For surely, as the full community gathers again without restriction, we will discover that we have been changed by the last year or two in ways we did not, and could not, see before. There may be some that we don’t see return at all. There may be others that are brand new and that we haven’t met. Each of us have bread to share and bread we need to receive. As we move into this new phase a new and large table will be set, around which all may gather, and be fed.
Grace and Peace to you.
Yours In Christ,
Drew+
St Aidan's Episcopal Church
1318 SR532, Camano Island, WA 98282
PO Box 145, Stanwood, WA 98292
Office@StAidansCI.org
(360) 629-3969 ~ Like us on Facebook
Copyright © All rights reserved.
1318 SR532, Camano Island, WA 98282
PO Box 145, Stanwood, WA 98292
Office@StAidansCI.org
(360) 629-3969 ~ Like us on Facebook
Copyright © All rights reserved.