What Comes Next: Ministry in a Messy World
I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, so I’ll focus on my experiences over the last couple of months. I love ministry with St. John’s Episcopal Church. PRIDE month was outstanding. Our Straight & Gay Alliance led the way, figuratively and literally. We experienced excellent participation in our PRIDE events, and we should be proud of how we welcome and incorporate our Rainbow Community, standing with them in honoring who they are as beloved children of God, including their gender journey and sexual identity.
What’s become apparent to me, though, is my overall angst and frustration in dealing with our state’s leadership, as well as all the changes at the federal level. Plus, throw in fear for Ukrainians, Iran, Palestine, Gaza, and Israel, the global economy, healthcare, food insecurity, housing needs, and well... it often feels like things are one big ol’ mess. I like to think I know St. John’s fairly well by now, and I’m pretty certain most of you are concerned, too.
I (nor do you) don’t have a magic crystal ball in my office to shake and figure out the future of the state, nation, and world. When I see you on Sunday mornings or throughout the week, I don’t know what is happening in your mental and emotional states, nor do you mine. Sometimes I’m concerned for the world, other times I’m thinking about a family member’s need, or an extended family member’s need. I might be wondering if I remembered to feed the dog that morning. I might be absorbed with a pastoral crisis or working through a project with the diocese. I’m delighted to serve as dean of the Kanawha Deanery, which means I attend Diocesan Council. Plus, I’ve been asked to chair the Sanctuary Committee that resulted from a resolution at last November’s Diocesan Convention. All to say that life is beautifully full, and we never fully know the emotions each of us carries.
Regardless of where our minds and hearts are at any given moment, we need one another. I believe I am better off because I get to be part of St. John’s faith family. I promise I am far from perfect. And still, my heart is here with all of you, your beautiful and challenging histories and contexts. Some of us appreciate a note or a phone call for our pastoral needs. Some would rather have me visit in person. Others have far more challenging emotional situations that clergy aren’t capable of handling. It would be wonderful if being present with you as your rector were enough, but it is, due to restrictions on my availability and the urgency of your needs, often not. In my own life, I have found that therapy combined with daily prayer is helpful when I find myself stuck or in need of a reality check, a safe place to process challenges. These are simply tools that are available to all of us when we find ourselves in a physical, emotional, or spiritual crisis.
I want to be here for your pastoral needs, I do. And I promise I will occasionally fail at meeting those needs. We have a pastoral care team in place that’s doing a beautiful and faithful ministry. I invite you to reach out to me if you need to talk and have me listen, or if you are ill and need prayer. I also invite you to reach out to one another. The gift of participating in choir, lector, and Eucharistic Ministers, altar guild, flower guild, SAGA, and all our other ministry teams is that you get to know one another better, more deeply than if you weren’t part of any ministry team.
I will continue pastoring St. John’s as best I am able, and for us to grow into who we might become, I may not be as timely as I would like to be. I have faithfully pastored smaller congregations and been able to get to everyone. I want St. John’s to grow and flourish, and I know we can do so. For that growth to occur, I’m working with parish staff, vestry, executive team, and other lay leadership to put ministries into place for growth opportunities. I’m asking you to help me help St. John’s grow and flourish like we know we can. Help us to think creatively about new ways of being and serving. Continue living in the present moment, rather than getting stuck in the former years, or worse, the glory years when your whichever priest was your favorite rector.
Vestry is working on deepening our understanding of St. John’s values: social justice, inclusion, belonging, and faithfulness. We are nearing completion of those discussions and about to launch into a thorough look at our parish mission. We will prayerfully discern if our current mission is still our reason for being today. I don’t know the outcome of that conversation, but we will gather afterward to share the outcome with the parish. Our mission might remain identical, or it could be changed. And God will be/is part of that process. We have hard and exciting work in the next few years to come together as a new faith community under our shared leadership. I am excited, and I need your support. I need your active engagement. I need your excitement about what we are about and who we will become together.
I believe St. John’s is entering into a new era. What we will become hasn’t yet been made clear. I know that we need to work together, though. I know that we need to look to Christ for the greater glory. I know we need to rely upon God for inspiration. Please, please join me in this exciting process, and remember that the process is messy and imperfect. I pray you will remain committed, alongside me, proclaiming the Good News of Love through Christ.
In God’s Grace,
Eric L. Miller+
Rector
