“Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation.” Our collect this morning reminds us of our call as Christians: to love God and to love one another by sharing the good news. It is as simple, yet difficult as that. If that is our job as Christians, then the job of the church is to equip people to
live out that call. The church must be a place where we help one another in our mission to love God and love our neighbor.
When I spoke to you last year at our annual meeting, we talked about a paradigm that casts the church as base camp. If you think of what it takes to climb a mountain, you will reflect that there is a great deal of training and preparation involved. You need to get in shape physically, you need to get climbing equipment. You need to learn from others who have already climbed mountains. You need to study the trails and determine the best approach. After you have a great deal of climbing experience you can finally set your sights on the ultimate feat; Mount Everest. But Everest is no ordinary mountain. Even for the most experienced climbers it is the most daunting of climbs. You must prepare yourself and you need the help of others. Once you have done all this preparation you begin your trek to your
destination; base camp. You see, you cannot summit Everest all at once. The air is too thin, and the altitude is too high. You first need to climb to base camp where you can rest and prepare yourself for the journey ahead. Base camp is provisioned with everything you will need for your assent; food, water, oxygen, and most importantly, experienced guides who can
lead you and offer encouragement for your journey. Only those who have spent time at the base camp and availed themselves of the resources it offers can succeed in the quest for Everest.
By now you are figuring out why we compare the church to base camp. Base camp is not the destination for climbers, it is merely a place to equip and support them in their quest. The Church is not the destination for disciples, it is merely a place to equip and support them in their quest. Our job as the church is to be the base camp for disciples; to offer a place of
refreshment, education and encouragement to prepare each disciple for their mission and ministry.
This past year we have done well at being base camp. We held education and formation programs to help disciples get to know one another and get to know God. We offered workshops on gift discernment, spirituality and grace to assist people in knowing their unique gifts. We studied during Lent and Advent, pondered scripture each week, and looked for ways
that God is active in our lives.
We shared our gifts by hosting guests through Family Promise, gave of our resources to Epicenter, communities in schools and Gabriel’s gift, and gave our time working with the Just One Project. We prayed with and for people in need, people hurting, people in need of God’s healing touch. Most importantly, we celebrated Holy Eucharist week after week, communing
with God and with one another. We truly are living into our call to create and equip disciples.
But now that we have built this base camp to assist people on their journey, there remains one more task to accomplish. We need to let people know that this base camp is here. For building and equipping this way station is not the end, but the beginning. Now that we have built this base camp, this church, we need to go out into the world and let people know that
we exist.
Last fall we held our first “bring a friend Sunday”. Aside from Christmas and Easter, that day was the largest attendance in our church for the year. My friends, that was no accident. People will come to our church, our base camp, when you invite them. When you tell them of how your faith in God has enriched your life, people will listen. So, go out and do just that.
Make every Sunday invite a friend Sunday. There is an entire city full of people out there who are in pain, who have no direction, who feel that life is not what they wanted it to be. They are in great need of the good news, and YOU can bring it to them. “Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of
his salvation.”
I know what some of you are thinking. “Isn’t growing the church what we hired you for?” The answer is no. When I became your rector, I was called to be pastor and preacher; to teach; to absolve, to bless; to perform sacramental rites. I am not the person who can grow the church,
because people expect me to be different. I am unusual; I dress funny; they can’t relate to my story. But though they won’t respond to my story, they will respond to yours. I know that we are Episcopalians, but this is not a job that we can hire someone to do; it must be done by each of us. What I am saying is share YOUR story. Look for opportunities to talk about how your
faith has mattered to you personally. Then let them know that they are welcome at our base camp.
Bring them here and let us show them God’s love. Last year we welcomed many new people; seekers who came to our door in search of a church home and a deeper relationship with God. One thing I hear from folks on a regular basis is how welcoming Epiphany is to newcomers. There is something in the DNA of this church that make the stranger become family almost immediately. I felt it the first time I came here, and it still strikes others as a blessing. That is precisely what it is, God showing his blessing by using us to welcome others in his name. In the coming year, we still have work to do. Maintaining the base camp takes work. Everything that a climber needs is in base camp, but it all must be carried to the camp and that requires a great deal of labor. Our base camp requires work as well, and it is work that we all share. Just as church is not something done to you, but by you, base camp is both for you and made by you. We do not GO to church, we ARE the church.
“Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation.” Are you ready to answer His call?