Community

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

August 11, 2019

14 Proper C

          Almost two years ago, in the fall of 2017, we held a series of cottage meetings in which over 100 people dreamed about our future at Christ Church.  Some of the dreams were huge-like use our Christian Education hallway for a pre-school.  Some of the dreams were small, like new carpet in the Parish Hall.  We allowed ourselves to dream as if money were no obstacle so we could begin to discern what God is calling us to do and be at Christ Church.

          Over the months and now years that followed, we honed that dream, pushing ourselves to be specific about both the what and the why of our dreams.  Through more parish conversations, we discerned that we wanted to make our space, particularly our parish hall and other gathering spaces, more user friendly both for ourselves and for the community at large.  At a parish gathering, we determined that our number one priority was to maximize the use of our building. 

          This morning, we hear Jesus say “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  I would like to suggest that over the past two years, we have been trying to articulate where our heart is, so we can put our treasure there.   From our conversations, I believe our collective heart at Christ Church wants to be more connected and of more service to our community both in Hudson and beyond.  Our collective heart hears Isaiah speak God’s voice this morning and say “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow,” and we long to do what God desires of us.  Our mission statement proclaims that we seek to be a welcoming community of faith, grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ, serving Hudson and beyond.  Our heart is in building that community.

          We already welcome many groups into our buildings.  We host Job Search, AA, Al Anon, SAGE which is an educational opportunity for retired people, the Hudson Youth Chorus, Music from the Western Reserve,  Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, Brownie Scouts and Daisy Scouts, Refuge Recovery, the Hudson Writers’ Workshop, the Learned Owl book group, Newborns in Need, and First Presbyterian Church.  I am sure I have left something out, and that does not include the groups or people who ask to use the building on a one time or occasional basis.  All of that is on top of the very many Christ Church ministries that occur in our building.

          Jesus calls us to action and preparedness this morning, then Jesus says “"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."  Our baptismal covenant calls us to “Seek and serve Christ in all people.”  Yes, we wait for Jesus to come at the end time.  But we also believe that Jesus comes in the form of every single person who crosses our threshold, whether a member of the parish, a visitor or guest, someone trying to find their way from the parking lot to the Upper Room for an AA meeting, or the 42 children we served at Vacation Bible School last week.  Jesus comes at unexpected times and in unexpected ways, while at the same time Jesus comes all the time in everyone.  Our call is to be a church that welcomes and serves Jesus every time Jesus walks though our door.

          Today, we kick off our Capital Campaign.  Lou Young and George Van Buren will tell you more about that at the end of the service.  The name of our campaign is “Building for Community.”  On the surface, a capital campaign can look like it’s all about the building and all about us.  Yes, our buildings need some work and yes, we will benefit from that work.  But if that is all the campaign is about, I am really not interested.  Our campaign is about community, building community among ourselves and building community in Hudson.  Our campaign is about providing a more welcoming and accessible place where we meet Jesus and where we better serve Jesus as he comes through our doors day in and day out.  More accessible gathering spaces, more accessible restrooms, a hallway to go around an upgraded parish hall with more space and a sound system so everyone can hear, and some work on the outside of our historic Beebe House are all pieces of this campaign.  Yes, the campaign is about the building.  But the building is about being a place that creates community and serves Jesus at Christ Church.

          The reading from Hebrews reminds us of the faith of Abraham, who was called by God to set out on a journey, not knowing where he was going, how he would get there, or what he was supposed to do when he arrived.  We are called to such faith, even though we have a much better idea of where we are going and how we will get there than Abraham did.  But we do have an audacious goal for our campaign and reaching that goal is going to require stepping out in faith.  Stepping out in faith is nothing new to Christ Church and I brag about your faithfulness and tenacity all the time to pretty much anyone who will listen.  Our theme, again, is building for community.  I believe that working together as one body on this campaign will strengthen us as a community.  In my experience, every time a church steps out in faith and bites off what feels like a little more than they can chew, that church grows in faith, in energy, and sometimes even in numbers because faith and excitement are contagious.  And when we step out in faith, whatever we are doing, we will find Jesus in new and unexpected times and places.

                                                                             Amen.