THE STATE OF THE CHURCH
Given by the Rev. Gary Straughan at the Opening Banquet of the Eastern District Synod
East Hills Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
JUNE 18, 2008
I welcome you to this 2008 synod of the Eastern District and, specifically, to this opening banquet. It was a truly magnificent meal and we thank Bob Wingrove and his crew for such fine food and service. I want to also thank again our planning committee and our outgoing district board for all of the work that went into seeing that our synod got off the ground in such a superb fashion. Most of all, I want to thank Lucille Lightcap for the myriad of tasks that fall into her lap as a synod approaches and for the pulling together of all of the loose ends that will be left when we head for home. There are so many others to thank – from tellers to mission team chairs, from synod office staff to those resourcing our mission teams, from synod officers to mission team secretaries and chaplains, and, finally, thanks to you, each pastor under call or appointment and each delegate, for being here. It is my hope that each of us leaves this synod on Saturday determined to move forward over the next four years as a district united in mission and in call. As our theme hymn words it at the conclusion of the first verse – may we be compelled “to plan and work together that all may know Christ’s love,” with the intent that, in the words of the fourth verse, we leave this synod with the determination to “be a vessel for God’s redeeming word.”
In the 2007 Annual Report from the Board of World Mission, Will Sibert wrote this: “It is only in getting ourselves up and out the doors of our church buildings that we can impact the world around us with Christ’s Gospel – then we are ‘being Christ’s Church even as we are being His witness!’ This is being the kind of Church that moves people spiritually – that fosters a compelling energy – that writes an exciting, even different chapter in the Moravian story!”
As I reflect on the work of our province and our district and the work of each congregation, this would be the description of the seeds that I have seen being planted over the course of the past four years. Many of those seeds have begun to sprout - some into what are yet tender young plants, some just beginning to poke their heads out of the soil, and some being choked out by weeds and underbrush. In the Eastern District, we have been very deliberate in attempting to be faithful to our inter-synodal theme – “Enabling Christ’s Ministry By Living Our Faith.” We have seen some wonderful new efforts within our congregations and across our district where the missional movement has really taken hold. There are many successes but there have also been some setbacks and I will reference some of those setbacks first.
During this inter-synodal period the number of congregations on negotiated assessments continued to decrease – down to 16 in 2008 from 27 in 2004. In addition, 2008 is the final year that four of those 16 will have reduced assessments. But that still leaves 12 congregations that will be on negotiated quotas – all of whom have been in that position since the 20th century. And it is many of those same congregations that are finding it difficult to meet even their reduced assessment askings. During this four-year period, our communicant membership in the district has decreased by 8% and that is disheartening. It means that even though we have been able to hold the line and even lower the expenses in our district-wide budgets, the per capita assessment has needed to increase because of the smaller pool. During this period, we have seen one congregation – Midway Manor – vote to discontinue their ministry as a congregation. While it is natural for congregations to have a life of their own, it is still sad when the numbers become so small that a congregation is no longer viable. Over the next several months, we may see this very same thing happening with one or more of our remaining 52 congregations in the district. You will note that, during this inter-synodal four-year period, there were 81 pastoral changes listed in the EDEB report – that number has now climbed to 84 because of thee more changes since that report was written. A primary reason for such a large turnover (an average of 21 per year for the Eastern District made up of just 53 congregations) is that many of those changes included student and retired pastors helping in either interim or long-term appointments. And the reason for that is that we definitely have a shortage of clergy across this province – almost a 20% shortage. That is significant and it is cause for concern and provides a major reason – in addition to the whole concept of ageism – as to why the EDEB is submitting a proposal to refer to the Provincial Synod to ask that the mandatory retirement age policy be reconsidered. Another reason that goes into this shortage, I am sad to report, is that we have had seven ordained individuals leave the pastoral ministry of the church in our district – some by their own choice and others who needed to be outplaced or whose call was terminated. What is sad is that there appears to be a growing lack of respect for pastoral ministry, both on the part of congregations and on the part of pastors themselves, and less of a willingness to patiently work at building the personal relationships that develop a healthy pastor-parish connection.
To summarize these setbacks, I think that I would conclude that, just like the society around us, we are in an economic downturn, that our stewardship principles are being based more upon the size of the pocketbook than on the size of the heart, that there is an unprecedented move towards a “me, mine, and ours” mentality which should have no place in the church of Jesus Christ, and that the pastoral ministry is one of the most difficult of all professions whose importance is not respected by many.
In spite of these setbacks, I can also report that our district is in good shape, poised and ready to be the missional church that we are called to be. For instance, in finances – in spite of the release in 2007 of over $45,000 in reserve funds to fund a Jubilee forgiveness of all 2006 debts remaining from congregations in this district and in the Western district and in spite of the fact that two of our congregations still owe approximately $2,400 towards their 2007 district administration assessments, we were able to close the financial books on 2007 almost $340,000 greater in reserve funds than we closed the 2003 financial books – much of that certainly due to a good investment return for the four years from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2007. However, I do have to add that congregations within the boundaries of the Eastern District still owe $27,000 in 2007 Provincial Administrative assessments and, of even greater significance, over $65,000 in pastoral benefits – insurance and pension assessments. That is a total of $95,000 in remaining denominational debt from 2007 from seven congregations, even though our district finances are currently in excellent shape. Under the guidelines found in the Book of Order, the delegates and pastors of those congregations would not be permitted a vote here this week. However, the Book of Order also gives the PEC permission to grant voting privileges to congregations in arrears under certain conditions and the PEC has authorized the district board to make that decision. Thus the district board has granted voting privileges to the delegates and pastors of Easton First, Newfoundland, Tremont Terrace, New York First, Good Shepherd, Faith DC, and Schoenbrunn congregations. However, their arrearages are still due and each congregation has committed to working on eliminating that debt.
In the area of mission activity, I am truly awed by what is happening within our congregations. The creation (and request at this synod for official recognition) of the Northeast Moravian Disaster Response group heads the list – organizing mission trips to the Gulf Coast, doing mission work at Camp Hope, and helping out at Moravian Open Door are but a few of their accomplishments. At least 40 of our congregations have had members involved in Gulf Coast mission trips. Several congregations are in support of Peg and Bill Hoffman’s efforts with the AIDS orphan program. We have a significant number of congregations doing Habitat for Humanity work in an ongoing missional outreach. I am aware of two congregations that are hosting mid-eastern refugee families. Some of our congregations are actively at work helping new residents with their immigration status.
Exciting ministries within congregational settings are blossoming in many places. Several of our metro congregations report new musical ministries with handbells and pans. East Hills is presenting the Putz narrative in Spanish and this very family life center in which we are gathered is the site for many sporting events which open the Moravian Church to the community. The Ice Cream Festival at West Side, hoagie making at Grace Center Valley, the Roast Beef Dinner at Easton First, the Dinner Club at Palmer, the computer outreach and fitness program at John Hus, Lancaster providing meals at the Crispus Attucks Homeless shelter, the Mission Gift shops at Lititz and at Central and the way in which both of those congregations have sent missionaries to Tanzania and to South Africa, the support of Safe Harbor by Schoeneck and Easton First, the Hub of Hope Food Pantry at Reading, the hat and mitten collection at Covenant, the Helping Hands Ministry at York First, the Love Kitchen at Tremont, Grace Queens’ Seniors’ Dinner, the sponsoring of international children at Palmyra, Health Fairs at Egg Harbor, the Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry at Riverside, the Battle Hill Christmas Boutique, Trinity’s provision of coats for elementary school children and toiletry kits for the homeless shelter, Graceham’s Gifts for the Gracias program, Dover’s Helping Hand program, Fry’s Valley’s Roadside Coffee Breaks, the Promise’s support of children at Dooley’s Orchard, Schoenbrunn’s extensive support of the homeless shelter, the Wild West Fest at Sharon, the Christian Service Center Food Pantry at Uhrichsville, New Dawn’s Summer Camp program reaching neighborhood children, the Newstart venture that was eventually abandoned at Canadensis, the provision of space for CARD and also for a counseling service at New Dorp, the Crocheting Christians at Lebanon which provide mittens and socks for veterans and low income persons, the Northeast Moravian Disaster program that began, basically, out of the work of John Edgerton at Advent, the hat and mitten tree at Mountainview, the Children’s Center at St. Paul’s, the work of the YMCA at Vanderbilt, and the gift card program at Emmaus – all of these programs represent some of the varied ministries that were reported by those congregations that have submitted their 2007 annual reports.
I have said this many times but it bears repeating again and again – we Moravians are so blessed with a very talented and caring and professional cadre of pastors. This, my friends, is our most valuable resource and I fear that too often we who sit in the pews take this resource for granted. As I have traveled from congregation to congregation I have never failed to be grabbed by superb preaching, professional and well trained worship leadership, shepherds who are compassionately involved in the lives of parishioners, and prophets who do not fear to speak God’s word to a recalcitrant society. If I were prone to competitiveness, I would not hesitate for one moment to align our clergy alongside the clergy of any denomination, knowing that ours would come out on top.
Across this district, we have a staff without whom the work of our district would come to a complete halt. Many of them are volunteers, serving on our various boards, committees, and agencies. Some of them were elected at the last synod. Some were invited to serve since then. I could not even begin to name all of them. I simply say, “thank you. Without you, this would have been a disastrous four year period.” There are paid staff who serve us on a provincial level – Dave Wickmann, Gary Marsh, Fred Lehr, and Gloria Reisinger all come to mind. Then there are some district staff that are out there full time serving us – individuals who have been given a specific call or appointment to serve our district – Marie Couts, Chris Giesler, and Tina Giesler. All of those are complemented by support staff without whom we would be truly disadvantaged. But, let me tell you this. There is one person who is the glue that holds this district together and who serves you faithfully day in and day out without much credit. She has made it possible for this synod to open and get underway. Of course, I refer to Lucille Lightcap. I cannot imagine what it would have been like without her guiding me over these past six years and so I say a special thank you to Lucille.
So – the health of our district:
1. Finances – Solid on the district level but lacking on the provincial level
2. Mission Activity – Exciting
3. Local Ministries and Missional Activity – diverse and all-encompassing
4. Pastoral Leadership – second to none
5. Volunteer and Lay Ministries – well supported and very professional
6. District Staffing – outstanding
And so, sisters and brothers, I strongly believe that, as of the synod of 2008, the state of the Eastern District of the Northern Province is good! And I would add that we are a treasure waiting to be found. However, therein may be our biggest problem. We are a treasure waiting to be found. Too many of us sit back and expect others to find us. Rather than waiting to be found, we are called upon to take the treasure we have out into the world in which we are immersed. We are one in mission and one in call – not to sit back and wait to be found but to step out and into the society into which our Lord is already immersed. Our mission and calling is to join our Chief Elder who is already there.
Several years ago – about 2002 – the Barna Research Group released the findings of a survey of people who do not consider themselves to be Christian. They were asked to provide their impressions of 11 groups of people. Only 44% of those surveyed had a favorable impression of ministers whereas only 22% had a favorable impression of evangelical Christians. The category of evangelical Christians was beaten out by Democrats, television performers, real estate agents, lawyers, and Republicans, in addition to clergy. Only one group scored lower. Why do you think this is? I believe that one of the reasons for this perception is that the Church has not done a very good job of being the Body of Christ in the world. I am reminded of that famous statement by Mahatma Gandhi – “I would become a follower of Christ if it weren’t for Christians.”
I believe that we need to return to scripture and really understand what it says about our function as the Body of Christ. Many of us can probably recite word for word the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John – you know, “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God,” etc. If you remember, one of the significant verses in that chapter is the 14th verse: “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” That describes for us how God laid aside the divine majesty and assumed human nature in the form of a servant. This act that we call “incarnation” is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. In Christ, God came near. God put on human flesh. God became one of us.
And did God then act as one might expect? Not at all! In Jesus, God was always living among and working for and relating to those on the edges – the underdogs, the marginalized, the outcasts. His critics claimed that he was a drunk and a glutton, that he hung out with the wrong crowd and ran with the wrong people. Think about it – let me put it into today’s perspective: he praised the soldier of an occupying army for the depth of his faith telling me that perhaps today he would sit down and discuss faith with the leaders of Hamas and of Israel or that, as an American soldier, he would sit and discuss their faith with Sunni and Shiite Iraqis. He told a story about a Samaritan who proved to be a better neighbor than a Jewish priest telling me that he might tell a story today about a Muslim who proved to be a better neighbor than a Moravian clergy person. He dined in the home of a man who gouged his countrymen of their money and lined his pockets by extortion through higher taxes telling me he might sit down to dinner today with the CEO of Exxon or Enron.
This, brothers and sisters, is what incarnation is all about – God coming nearest to the ones who need Him the most. As someone has written, “Our Lord did not remain distant and unfeeling when the world fell from its state of grace. No, He rolled up His sleeves and put Himself to work to do something about it. He put on our flesh. He walked our dusty roads. He shed our tears, He bore our pain, and He provided for our salvation. Incarnation! God with us!”
But then a most remarkable thing occurred. This same God who entered into our lives and became God with us, gave us the awesome responsibility to become the vehicle for such incarnation. Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” That rag-tag group of disciples, and you and I as today’s rag-tag disciples, are to continue this incarnational work. That is what we mean by being the missional church.
I want to challenge us tonight to see the responsibility we have to be involved in incarnational work. It seems to me that our ministry needs to be characterized in three very simple ways – a ministry of relationship, a ministry of presence, and a ministry of influence. First, a greater ministry of relationship. Again, think back to what we know about Jesus’ ministry from the gospel record. Mind you, that record is very incomplete and most of it tells about the final week of Jesus’ life. But from what we have, we can be fairly certain that Jesus was a relational kind of guy. He was constantly reaching out to people from a variety of walks of life and he was able to relate to any and every one. Note that he did not simply hang with the righteous folk, those who had it all together. He reached out to those on the margins. And his connection with others was always related to the individual. There was no canned presentation. To Matthew the tax collector who knew he was everyone’s pariah, Jesus simply said, “come let us dine together.” To the woman at the well with very low self-esteem, Jesus said, “I know all about you but it doesn’t matter because you too can have this living water.” To the rich young seeker, Jesus talked about true riches. To the persistent groupie who wanted no more than crumbs from Jesus, Jesus talked about the real meanings of faith. And on and on. He always met people right where they were and related to them in their unique situations. As a teenager we are told that he sat inside the synagogue with the fine religious folk and debated theology and doctrine. But then, in his ministry, he moved out to the spots where he found those who needed him the most and entered into their lives. This is the relational ministry that Christ has given to Eastern District Moravians today.
Second, a greater ministry of presence. Jesus was not just about ideas and teachings and theology. His ministry was about intimacy and nearness. As he called those who would be known as disciples – and I believe that there were more than 12 of those and that they included women – as he called them, he called them to be with him. And they then spent the better part of three years in each others presence. They did not just get together once a week at 11 AM on Sunday mornings – they walked through every experience together. They talked and ate and worked and slept and healed and worshipped and grew and broke bread together. They were present to each other until that fateful night that we call Maundy Thursday when all of the others disappeared as Jesus faced the cross alone. They had not seemed to get it. But it was only a few weeks later when Luke tells us in Acts that they were all back together with thousands more spending “much time together, breaking bread from house to house, and eating together with glad and generous hearts.” So it is with our mission and our call. Think about the time when you have been at one of the lowest points of your life. What was it that meant the most to you? Was it what someone said? Or was it when you knew that someone was just there with you? Leo Buscaglia once told about a four-year-old boy whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old man’s yard, climbed onto us lap, and just sat there. Later, when his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy replied, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” That’s a ministry of presence. And that is the calling and mission we have – to, as Alan Roxburgh told us a couple of years ago, “pitch our tent in our neighbor’s yard and invite the stranger to our table.” Listen to his description of the Emmaus road experience from his book, “The Missional Leader:” Two disciples are on a road, “returning home to their former lives. They are bereft of hope because their world has fallen apart with the execution of Jesus. A stranger meets them on their journey and walks with them. They cannot believe that, as they hear from the stranger, someone could not know of recent events. In their own grief they have no perspective as to who the stranger walking with them is. Even though he speaks of hope and expectation, and the promises of the Scriptures, the disciples still have no idea who is walking with them. Then, as night is falling, they extend the natural invitation to the stranger to eat with them. At the table, sitting beside each other in this place of sharing, the stranger breaks bread and their eyes are suddenly opened to the truth of who is sitting with them. The true identity of the stranger becomes visible only at the table and in the elements of eating together.” Then Roxburgh concludes his illustration with these words, “The truth about the people is our neighborhood, community, and culture is experienced in relationship around the table. The truth about the creation of a new kind of culture is experienced in the practice of hospitality.”
Finally, a ministry of influence. It happens to me. I’m sure it happens to all of us. We often forget how much of an influence our lives have on others. It’s a trite story but how often have you experienced some angry motorist leaning on her horn or showing you the middle of the five digits on his hand for some infraction he or she thinks you have committed only to have his/her car go by you to see some kind of a Christian bumper sticker on the back bumper? How often have your found yourself shouting at the clerk in the grocery aisle because you thought they were being too slow in the checkout process? How often have you, self-righteously, berated a customer service representative because they did not give you the break you felt you deserved? I believe that, as the Body of Christ, you and I need to begin to realize that everywhere we go, everything we do – at home, at work, at school, in our clubs and organizations, on the basketball court, at the sporting event – we are an influence for Christ for good or ill. Many of you know the signature tagline that is on my computer so that when you get an email from me, you also get a message that says, “Preach the Gospel. Use words if you must.” That message is there, not for your benefit. It is there to continually remind me that I have a responsibility to truly live the gospel that I preach. The things we do in an ordinary day can be transformed into miracles of influence for the Kingdom of God if we are attentive to walking the talk.
During the past four years, ever since our district synod of 2004, the Eastern District has very deliberately been attempting to practice the missional life. Our theme at the 2004 synod was “enabling Christ’s ministry by living our faith.” In these intervening years, we have focused our pastor’s retreats, our district conference, our healthy congregations workshop, and our entire program emphasis around that theme. Even the Provincial synod of 2006 followed with the theme, “Christ is Risen! In faith, we follow him in mission.” Now – there is no way that I claim this as being something new. This is what we have been preaching and promulgating for decades, even centuries. To be the Church of Jesus Christ means that we also are called into mission to be – to be what Christ has called us to be – disciples. The emphasis is upon the other. We do not share the love of Christ so that we can mold others into our likeness or so that we can make them members of our church or so that we can have better finances in our church. No. We share the love of Christ because we truly care about the other person. And therein is the future of our church. We must move from being a treasure waiting to be found into being a vessel pouring out the love of Christ in our every moment. I think that Jesus said it this way in Matthew: Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
As we pour ourselves into the lives of others, we will begin to fulfill the call and mission that is ours. So the basic theme of my message is for us to stop being this treasure waiting to be found and to truly be the vessel Christ has created us to be. In this effort, we are one in mission and one in call. Again, in the words of our theme hymn at the conclusion of the first verse – may we be compelled “to plan and work together that all my know Christ’s love,” with the intent that, in the words of the fourth verse, we leave this synod with the determination to “be a vessel for God’s redeeming word.”
On a personal level, let me extend my appreciation for allowing me to have served in this district pastoral position for the past six years. You have been good to me and I truly appreciate it. As I move back to Wisconsin, I will not soon forget the experiences I have had and the many people I have met over these past six years. This work has energized me even as it has fatigued me and I am grateful to have had this opportunity. I would be less than honest, however, if I didn’t say that I am looking forward to my return to the life of a pastor of a local congregation. I believe that I have learned much in this position that will go with me to Green Bay East. I covenant to be in daily prayer for this district and for its new president. May you always continue to be worthy of the blessing that God has showered on you. Amen.
