Coming Together

October 16, 2011

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in your sight, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Amen

I. Introduction

Today we remember the Homeless. Just as this past week – Homelessness Action Week in Vancouver – has been about raising attention and action about homelessness, so too we here at St. Helen’s are remembering our homeless neighbors. Over the past few years, you’ve been hearing stories about our friends on the street – people, with Moms and Dads, and brothers and sisters, and hopes and dreams. But also people for whom the blessings of our modern society have mostly been absent – absent (or abusive) parents, absent (sometimes deceased siblings), lost hopes and dreams. And you’ll remember the good news stories too - the story of Annie whom we helped last year in her transition to permanent housing after 15 years on the street.

Well, we have more good news for you. For those who haven’t heard – and even for those who have, for some good news stories bear repeating, we have for you a story of God working through ministry to bring hope to the needy. I am so excited to share again the fabulous news that through the work of the Neighborhood Ministry (and Vicki Potter I should say, although I expect I’ll get a bit of a talking to after we get home this morning), through the work of the Neighborhood Ministry we have secured placements for 12 of our homeless neighbors at 16^th and Dunbar – Blair (Lord Byng); Thomas and Arthur (who lost their brother a few years back), their nephew Danny; Robert; Tim and Czabha who shoveled our snow last year at St. Helen’s. And Randy – here is a guy who has such anxiety that he can’t be with people, he always hides in his tent. And to see him come out of his tent, and come over the say “Thanks” after a decade or more on the street – well you know that your eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.

We found housing and arranged for 12 of our homeless neighbors to move inside – Nov. 21 is the move-in date and we’ll have information for you soon on how we can all help. You’ll see in your Bulletin today a note about our furnishings drive that will help our friends make the transition into their new homes. You’ll see in the Hall after the service a look at our neighbors’ new home.

It is indeed humbling to think of how far we’ve come, how much dependent on God’s grace we have been in carrying out this ministry. Our first publicity brochure invited interested parishioners to participate in the Neighborhood Ministry. The personal connections among the three parishes have been wonderful, and within our own Parish, we have been overwhelmed by the depth of support – from the many individual contributors who have brought in goods for the packets (our boxes in the Narthex are always billowing over), to the Indoor Teams and Youth who have helped prepare the packets, and the Outdoor Teams who have gone out in all kinds of weather to distribute the packets and be presence for the needy. And so this morning we once again extend the invitation to those who are already involved to stay involved and perhaps even to do more, and an invitation to those who have not yet had the opportunity to join in this ministry to join us.

At throughout it all the Neighborhood Ministry has been a witness to the ways in which our faith supports our service to the community. We wore the T-shirts to show to the world who we are, what we’re doing and why. And that Witness has continued, with presentations to Synod, to the National Anglican-Lutheran Worship Conference, and most recently to the Mayor’s faith roundtable on homelessness this past week. And we’ve been working with the Dunbar Community Advisory Committee, who has now asked us to coordinate collection of furnishings for 16th and Dunbar facility from all over the neighborhood – affording us more opportunities to bring witness to the world about our ministry.

At our initial organizing meetings we also talked about taking the Neighborhood Ministry to the next step – beyond charity to social change. At the time, this seemed like a dream, a mirage on the horizon, desired and hoped for but quite a ways off. Well, my friends, that is the success we have mentioned already. 12 people housed. This would not have been possible without God working in us. The city and provincial agencies involved had no idea these folks even existed, but for the work of the Neighborhood Ministry. So I think it is fair to say we have come a long way. And we have miles to go before we rest – dependent always on God’s grace, grateful for support from the Parish and the community, and ever hopeful that through this ministry we are helping to transform ourselves as well as our neighbors and to bring our community closer to the Kingdom of God.

II. Render Unto Caesar

Looking forward, I invite you to consider how so very blessed we are that the Neighborhood Ministry, and indeed all of St. Helens’ sacred ministries, give us opportunities to live out our faith. A faith grounded in tradition and scripture. We need not look very far into the Bible to find, in the writings of the prophets, in the Psalms, in the Gospel and the epistles, a call to ministry to the needy. Nonetheless, we are often left wondering what each of us can do, whether in the Neighborhood Ministry or other ministries of the church. We wonder how to live faithfully and still manage the affairs of our daily lives. Still look after the daily needs of work, school, of family, of community. As we all know. How are we to deal with all the challenges of the daily details, and still remain true to our faith. As always, Jesus shows us the way.

In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus responds to those who try to trap him with a question of showing loyalty to Caesar - the new god of the Empire, by paying taxes. Jesus responds with his now famous dictum, “Render under Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And in that statement, through the divine wisdom that statement represents, Jesus offers us a way of

life and ministry. Jesus offers us a way to appreciate that our lives involve both God and the world. The worldly and faith dimensions of our lives are not mutually exclusive options, but rather offer us a multitude of mutually supportive opportunities. Faith in the world. Coming together instead of apart. Doing both/and, rather than either/or. Celebrating difference, without being divided.

So, when we face struggles about the choices in our lives, challenges around priorities, or even daily questions about budgets and the like, let us turn from the notion of ‘either/or,’ to embrace the notion of ‘both, and.’ The notion of abundance - abundant life, abundant ministry. For the diversity of abundance is what makes our world and our parish what they are. Celebrating our diversity, embracing our differences without letting them divide us, are what can make the world and our parish great. So let us consider embracing the notions of ‘both, and.’ Let us celebrate ministries that include both seniors and youth, both the prosperous and the needy, both church veterans and newcomers. Jesus tells us render unto Caesar

the things that are of the world; render unto God the things that are God’s. We too can do all those things we need to do in the world, while also making Christ central, while letting Christ guide our thinking. Reveling in the challenges and complexities of difference, without allowing them to divide us. Coming together.

III. Conclusion

And so as we consider our Neighborhood Ministry and the hopes and challenges that go with it, as we live our lives in our neighborhoods and in our chapels, as we consider our priorities in the Church and in the world, as we build ministry and mission for our parish and our neighbors, let us embrace Jesus’ teaching. Let us both render unto Caesar and render unto God. In this coming together we can indeed make Christ central to our lives and ministries. Let us begin.

And let us pray:

Holy One, in whom we live and move and have our being, grant us the vision to see your truth in the world, grant us grace to celebrate your presence in the world and in the Church, and grant us the strength come together in Christ. In whose name we pray. Amen.