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Transitions, transitions, transitions! Our Diocese, St. Philip’s and your Vicar have been going through transitions for a couple of years now—aren’t we ALL READY to “settle”??? Our diocese has been in a time of transition since March 2004. We have now chosen a new bishop, The Venerable Mary Gray Reeves, Archdeacon for Deployment in the Diocese of Southeast Florida. She is a woman of grace and spiritual strength, married and a mother of two young teens. She understands how to run a diocese, how to place priests into positions where they work well with their congregations, how to encourage congregations of all sizes to grow as they share best practices with one another, and she is a gospel oriented woman of God. Let us all mark our calendars and celebrate with our Diocese as Mary Gray Reeves is consecrated third Bishop of El Camino Real on November 10, 2007, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Saratoga. El Camino Real will continue to be in a time of transition, but soon, we will “settle”. It was one year ago that St. Philip's Bishop’s committee called me to be your second Vicar. We have all continued to be in transition since my start in September, but things will soon begin to “settle”. My family and I are moving to Scotts Valley (finally!) in mid-July. We are taking a faith leap financially, as we have not yet sold our Morgan Hill home (hey—maybe Bishop Mary and her family need a good home, and that’s why God’s been holding off on bringing us a buyer??!!) I am especially excited to stop commuting and really get myself engaged in the Scotts Valley community; Jim will be happy to have me home for dinner on time once in a while! We will be around church most of the summer, but will take a much needed vacation in mid-August, ready to return refreshed for the Fall season. (Note: due to these transitions, St. Philip’s July “bishop’s visitation” has been postponed until further notice.) St. Philip’s will be celebrating 20 years as a mission congregation this November. Ten years in the gathering stage, another ten years settling into the church and buildings. I wonder what the next ten years will bring. I hope we don’t “settle” so much that we become too self-serving and forget our primary mission to reach out to serve those who are not “us”. (Was it an Archbishop of Canterbury who said, “The church is the only organization that finds its purpose in serving those who are not members?” or something like that???) Jesus’ ministry was always in transition, and was very short-lived. The gospels differ in the time-line of his public ministry anywhere from one to three years—yet the power of Jesus’ life and ministry was so effective it changed the world forever. Quality, not quantity, was the ministry of Jesus—and he was in perpetual transition. It is not as if effective ministry cannot be done while in transition—it’s just that we mere mortals tend to bloom when firmly planted, as long as our lives are planted and rooted in Christ. And then there was the remarkable ministry of Paul. Paul’s conversion planted him firmly in Christ, the Risen Lord. Paul’s life may have seemed to be in perpetual transition, but he was “settled” within, which allowed him to minister to the Gentile world effectively for over 25 years, at a time when persecution and imprisonment usually ended Christian ministry prematurely. Paul ministered by spreading the good news, healing, baptizing, bringing Christ into the lives of those who were hungry for new life. He worked hard to form new churches throughout the Roman Empire—and those churches eventually “settled” into what we know of as the Christian church. This summer we will explore Paul and his ministry in our adult sermons and in our children’s Sunday school classes. We will look to Paul’s ministry as a model not just for how to “do church”, but more importantly, how to “be church.” Jim, Becky and I look forward to being church with you, integrating our lives more fully in the community as we geographically settle in Scotts Valley. Happy summer to you! Faithfully, Pastor Mary and Jim |
