“Keeping the Faith in the Interim Time;

Thoughts, Views and Opinions from your Interim Vicar”

Snatching Victory Out of the Jaws of Defeat

This past summer, as I was laid up recovering from my knee replacement surgery, I had both the time and the opportunity to read some books that were of interest to me. One of them, “1776” by David McCullough, has been a New York Times best seller for some months now. With all due respect to our many, many British parishioners, it is a powerfully fascinating story and one that most Americans will find illuminating. One of the lessons I learned from this historical account is simply that there was “no bloody way that the colonials should have won the Revolutionary War!” The British Army had superior weaponry, superior military officers, and better-trained foot soldiers. Why did it happen the way it did? Well, I think the author makes it quite clear: it was simply that the Americans, under General George Washington, used innovative and unexpected tactics to defeat King George III’s powerful military force. The Americans had a goal and a dream: the dream of liberty and independence!

Well, we are at the point in our transition here at St. Philip’s when the dreams, the goals, the hopes, and the expectations of who we are as a parish are beginning to take shape. Whenever there is a change in parish leadership such as the resignation or retirement of a vicar or rector, people begin to get anxious about what the future will bring. Some people do not take change very well. They cling to the past as an anchor of security in what seems to be an insecure and unstable world. To step out into the unknown is simply more than they wish to experience. This was also true during the time of the American Revolution. Many, many loyalists refused to side with the rebels and ended up moving to the Maritime Provinces or the Province of Ontario. If you go to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia you will find a number of Anglican churches there started by clergy and congregations from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island who just couldn’t see themselves being disloyal to the Crown.

As we move closer and closer to calling a new settled pastor, some of you may experience feelings of disloyalty to your former vicar. This is a natural reaction and one which many parishes in transition experience. But our time line is marching ever onward and I can sense a growing urgency to get on with things such as getting all the data from the parish survey analyzed and completing the profile which will be used to market St. Philip’s as the unique congregation that it is.

I urge all of you to be patient and know that God really is directing our journey. There truly is victory ahead, the victory of a new chapter, a new story for St. Philip the Apostle, Scotts Valley. Remember that this parish was named for its patron saint, Philip, who was confronted by strangers seeking to find the Lord, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” As long as that is our true vision, as long as we keep the dream ahead of us, we too will find Jesus. We will find that we need not give in to our anxieties and our fears. We will find that God is truly showing us the way for growth in the Spirit. We will find new opportunities for spreading the Good News of Christ’s Gospel!

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding be with all of you!

Your faithful servant in the Lord,

The Reverend Barry Miller