We have had and will continue to have a lot of great opportunities here at St. Mark for you to lean into building our church community and following the path of discipleship. Two weeks ago we hosted Dr. Kathleen Treseder from UCI to speak about Climate Change and heard about how our recent decision to adopt guidelines for going carbon neutral that have been provided and encouraged by the Presbyterian Church (USA). We call our action, “Shifting into Neutral,” as we aim to become carbon neutral by 2030. Last week, we hosted Sister Sara Tarango, to discuss the forthcoming Farm Bill and its effects on families throughout our country. We have some other events coming up soon that we’ll begin promoting in due time.
Our guest presenters tell me often how impressed they are at the degree to which St. Mark is informed and active with regard to things like caring for the environment and advocating for the marginalized. That certainly has been St. Mark’s modus operandi for a long time, but it is not a wave that we want to ride until it dies out on the shore. It is a movement that we want to renew again and again, passing the torch and sharing the collective wisdom from generation to generation. So, today and next week I want to address how this happens.
I had a friend named Gus – a former presbytery executive and insightful church analyst – who long argued that when someone retires from their occupation, they should immediately consider themselves as freed up to participate in Christian ministry, whether that is fulfilling a volunteer role in the church, becoming an advocate for their passion, or simply seeing to it that something they always felt should be happening through their church starts happening through their church. His argument was the younger church members are spread too thin, between working day jobs and raising children, so it is unrealistic to expect them to carry the church’s load. Their job, he said, was to be good workers and parents, not to laden themselves with tasks or guilt over the work of the church that others could be doing.
I won’t lie – not everyone accepted Gus’ invitation to see their retirement as a time to step up, but one person I know answered that challenge beautifully. After an early retirement as a C.F.O. at a major media outlet, he would golf just about every day. But first he showed up, with a toolbox, and piddled around the church, replacing that faucet that never seemed to work right, cleaning the gutters, shampooing the carpet, etc. He worked in conjunction with the Buildings and Grounds Committee and simply said, “I have 2-3 hours each morning that I can devote to doing all the little things that everyone knows need to be done, but nobody gets around to doing. So write up a list and I’ll take care of it.” After, he’d head out to the tee box.
Not everyone has the leisure or finances to take an early retirement and carve out morning hours for volunteer work. And not every younger person is so spread out that they can’t find time to engage and enjoy the work of the church. Still, Gus taught us two things.
1. If we’re ever tempted to say something like, “The church ought to be …” then we immediately need to change our language to “We ought to be …” because we are the church.
2. There are seasons to life. Too often church leaders like me are so focused on meeting the need and recruiting volunteers that we become insensitive to how parenting, establishing a career, or taking care of one’s elders is how many people live out their faith, whether it is part of the church’s collective work or not.
So, where does that leave us? I’ll say more next week, but for now we need to think of our calling at St. Mark as a dynamic movement that needs constant regeneration. One thing I’ve found amazing about the L.A. Dodgers since moving here is how good they are at regeneration. After winning 111 games last year (that’s s LOT), they did not just bring back the same team for this year. They have two rookies in their starting lineup and have moved into first place even with their anticipated starting shortstop and ace pitcher on the injury shelf. How do they do it? Some teams wait until they hit rock bottom to renew themselves. The Dodgers renew their lineup when they are riding high, constantly investing in their farm system, where younger players are being prepared for being the ‘next man in.’ As focused as they are on this week’s series against the Padres, they are also already thinking about where they will be in three years.
Sorry for the sports analogy, but it seems appropriate to me, because who we are and who we are becoming are one cloth. As I said, I’ll get back to this with more next week. Until then, let’s continue to be the church.
Mark of St. Mark
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