Wonderful friends Toni Daniels and Ian Cron joined us for my Celebration of New Ministry service here at St Simon's on Wednesday, Dec. 5th. In fact, Ian spoke to a luncheon with a nice group of local clergy, parishioners, and friends and then later that evening preached. Cheri, Emma and Ella and I were also so grateful that our long time dear friend Toni Daniels could join us from New York City. Toni is the Co-Director of Mission for the Episcopal Church.
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There are moments in life,
which come to us…it seems,
from beyond the stars .
Moments which are precious, loving and so grace-filled…
we never want them to end.
You can probably think of a few, I am sure, in your life.
And so it is today,
we find ourselves in just such a moment.
Because today we gather here at St Simon’s
with an abundance of new blessings…
It is a blessing to worship God in such a beautiful sacred space.
It is a blessing for a fresh opportunity
to regroup and rethink
how we can better serve God’s people.
I am indeed honored and excited
to be called as your eighth Rector,
and to claim these moments with you, along the way.
Jesus loved people…
and he loved observing people –
he would have been a great Walmart greeter.
Jesus had an eye for the person in the corner,
the blind man, the woman scorned
and, today, the one so crippled by a spirit,
she couldn’t even stand up straight.
Jesus’ first instinct
was to touch others with Compassion.
But, Sabbath is supposed to be about rest.
And there is no rest for one who is crippled by pain.
So with a word and a touch of his hand,
Jesus heals this woman,
and immediately she stands up and praises God.
Well, let me just warn you,
God is fixing to do a whole lot of new and exciting things
right here at St Simon’s…
Old things are now ready to be transformed
into something New!
As many of you know, my wife Cheri Smith grew up here,
and I was born and raised over at Trinity Church, Mobile.
It’s still hard to believe, isn’t it?
Who would have ever dreamed…
only wish our dear friend Ed Horton,
my dad, and Cheri’s dad were here…
*Gen. Doolittle and Malcom at Eglin/Hurlburt.
Well, a few weeks ago,
I said good-bye to many wonderful dear friends and colleagues
at Christ Church Greenwich, Connecticut.
And in the midst of saying good-bye and thinking of this ministry…
I realized something significant…
I believe there is a disconnect taking place
between Religion and Spirituality.
What I mean by this is…
many folks in their 20s, 30s, and even a few 40s/50s…
have grown up in a totally different spiritual environment,
than their parents or grandparents did.
Church is different now.
Church membership and financial giving are clearly different…
Making time for God, has changed.
But, what I am discovering,
as someone who is almost 50, is…
there remains in every human being
a very deep longing for Spiritual Connection,
for transformation….
for a better way to live and breath.
Especially when life hurts…
Connecting to the sacred mystery of life is important…
and longing for answers to profound questions and doubts,
about personal and professional ethics
for conflicting societal standards,
are indeed all appropriate and good.
But, unfortunately, there is bad news for us…
because many now see The Church –
mainline protestants, and Roman Catholics --
as a less relevant community for spiritual growth.
In fact, I think you will discover
that even among some evangelicals
there is push back now…
Because what is emerging
is this deeper longing for
authenticity, relevance
and connection with The Living God.
Who is real…and knowable.
This is not about Mega Church,
Conservative or Liberal…
its all about what am I to do
with this dark emptiness inside…
I am tired of keeping up with the latest,
cars, boats, clothes, house…
In other words,
many are saying…
there’s got to be more to this life,
than managing my daily appearance.
Seekers of Jesus Christ
need a safe space to connect with Him.
To fall in love with Him.
To Worship Him.
This is really not rocket science…
It’s called FAITH.
And as you know,
“Faith is the evidence of things hoped for
and the assurance of things to come. “
Maybe one of our first faithful tasks together
may very well be to ponder all this…
Asking for God’s help
as we seek to serve Christ in all people.
My immediate predecessors,
Bill Richter, Jim Spencer and Ed Campbell
all provided solid leadership here.
And you certainly have a long rich history
of successful ministry here…
You already know what is needed
to nourish a healthy congregation.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, in his book,
Where God Happens,
says -- “A healthy church is one in which we seek
to stay connected with God
by seeking to connect others
with God.”
Fortunately, we don’t have to do this alone…
Jesus shows all of us the fundamental way to be:
and that is -- be Compassionate Observers.
Prayerful Observant Christians point the neighbor to Christ,
and show the same compassion that Jesus did.
Jesus says,
“come to me all you who are heavy-laden;
and I will give you rest. “
We at St Simon’s,
are called to serve all those who seek
the Face of God
and need rest.
As St Francis loved to say so long ago…
“Always, we begin again.”
We begin with this moment…
A moment when The Word
has come very near to us
from across the stars,
and has landed right here in our hands.
So, let’s grab it,
claim it,
love it,
and then give it away to others.
If you are ready,
I am ready!
Let’s get this started…
Amen.
visiting next summer. Until then, my heartfelt thanks go out to Clawson Smith, Lynn & Scott Smith, along with Audrey Schaus and Kamal Browning for helping host such a beautiful reception for all of us at the Tomes-Higgins House.
“Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny… This means that we should not passively exist, but actively participate in God’s creative freedom, in our own lives, and in the lives of others, by choosing the truth.” Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
The Rev’d Mark L. Fitzhugh
Well, what an interesting combination, today is isn’t it…
Trinity Sunday landing squarely on
Memorial Day weekend.
Now that’s a lot to sort out…isn’t it?
But if you think about it…
both of these can be connected nicely, I think…
because today we see The Blessed Trinity in its fullest --
and at the same time here in America
honor the service of courageous people
in the name of Freedom.
Remembrance and Community.
we can remember the ultimate sacrifice of Christ Jesus
for the redemption of the world,
and through His loving act/gift,
we can now here in our particular context
receive God’s Holy Spirit in faith.
And truly live as free people.
And as we learned last week,
the Holy Spirit becomes for us 21st century Christians
a whole new means or platform onto which
we can now grow into and fully experience
God’s continuous revelation for all of creation.
fully and completely when we remember Jesus here at the table
as we gather as a community.
saying that
Community is strengthen and renewed
by Remembrance of those who have come before us.
Jesus and those we have loved along the way.
I have a very clear memory of My mother and I
sitting at the kitchen table.
and must be in the first grade.
I remember the daunting task
of forming each letter slowly and with care.
But somehow my hand did not do
what my brain wished it would,
and my letters bore little resemblance
to those at the top of my tablet…
due in large part to my dyslexia.
I remember asking my mother
to write my name on my tablet.
With ease she took the pencil and with graceful,
fluid strokes formed the letters of my name…
Mark Fitzhugh.
She said, “Yes.”
And pointed to Mark and then to Fitzhugh,
sounding them out as if I had never heard them before.
I remember a sense of awe, thinking, “That’s my name.
That’s me, right there on that piece of paper. My name.”
more important, more permanent
because my name was written down before me.
Trinity Sunday is about remembering the names
of the three aspects of our one God.
Tomorrow our nation pauses to remember
those who have given their lives
in service to their country.
over 5,000 US deaths in the Iraqi and Afghanistan war…
I calculated that if we read one name per Second,
it would take us well over an hour & half
to read the complete list.
on this Memorial Day Weekend?
Today I remember
three incredibly brave young men
who could very easily slip into history
and never be remembered.
flew B25 bombers alongside Gen Jimmy Doolittle
as volunteers in a surprise air raid over Tokyo
on April 18, 1942, following Pearl Harbor.
was on that very same mission along with 75 others,
but three of his closest friends –
First Lieutenants Bill Farrow, Dean Hallmark
and Sergeant Harold Spatz,
were all three captured
following their plane crash
and were executed six months later in Japan.
Memorial Day is about names…
these three will not be forgotten.
or Korea, in Viet Nam, Iraq or in other arenas.
silently or aloud…name those people on your heart today.
But there was a time in ancient Israel
when the people feared that God had forgotten them.
to remind them that He had not forgotten them,
and He said -- “I have inscribed you on my palms.”
sometimes write things on their palms.
We do it to remember.
God did it because He can not forget.
“Unless I see the nail marks in Jesus’ hands
and put my finger where the nails were,
I will not believe it.”
“Thomas, your name is written on my palms.
Written in these nail prints,
written in my own blood.
I haven’t forgotten about you.”
are written all of our names.
Dean, Bill, Harold, and your loved ones…
with our names engraved on his palms.
are cherished and never forgotten
by the one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Recently, I was out walking around the block
over in Cos Cob…
And, it was a relatively quiet evening, for a change…
the generators had almost all been silenced.
And the night sky was as big and wide as Texas.
For a few moments looking up,
I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood…
to a wrinkle in time when I was just about 19 years old,
and my father had died of a heart attack.
A time, which I now call…
an "instantaneous, pivot of life."
Meaning - one moment your life is in place,
and a split second later,
it has changed forever.
So, I looked up
into the vastness of this enormous universe
and simply said…Wow!
Look at this creation…
Look at all the glorious details of life.
But , you know God,
“I still have a lot questions for ya”…
How is it that we can now see Putnam Hill covered
with hundreds of beautiful purple and white Crocus’
after such a disastrous storm last week?
How can this be possible, dear God?
Because we live on a planet
where we clearly can see your hand.
And it has given life and cause…
But far too often now
we continue to experience,
at a moment’s notice,
the precious, sweet gift of life torn away, from us.
How can these contradictions be possible?
Questions!
Well, the popular 80s song writer, Karla Bonhoff --
tried to answer, when she wrote:
"We never know where life will take us,
and it's just a ride on the wheel.
And we never know when death will shake us
and we wonder how it will feel."
For me, when tragic death comes,
I feel scattered and just don't know how to feel,
except to be afraid and numb.
So, as I walked up our drive way,
I heard a voice coming from next door…
it was a child’s voice,
and it was as clear as a bell.
She said, only four words,
“Because, I love you.”
There it was…the answer!
In full bloom.
God loved June Einhorn into being on of all days -- June 1st, 1948
And from all who knew her,
June was clearly Number 1.
In fact,
both Eric and Lucinda Harris told me recently
that they have never know anyone
with such deep character and firm convictions.
June made a difference where ever she was.
And we saw that first had here at Christ Church
and with you all as Choir Family for sure.
Eric, Ashley, Nick and Terrence…
Dawn, Ann, Jack, and Jill --
We all feel so badly for each of you right now.
But somehow now through all of this,
God speaks to you with a broken heart, too
God weeps today, but God will never abandon us.
And long after this service is over,
you will always have our love and support, too.
Someone once defined grief as “the pain of letting go.”
I like that.
I think it accurately describes what we do
every time a loved one dies;
we have to let go, ready or not.
It felt like that yesterday in the memorial garden,
didn’t it?
And so, today we gather here to continue our grieving,
not so much to find absolute answers.
But in this grief, let us never forget
that what matters most for people of faith…
whether we are Jewish, Catholic, Episcopalian,
each one of us in our own spiritual journey,
can NOW fully understand…
this answer.
That is - the God of Abraham is the source of all life
and when we die
each of us returns to this very same source
of goodness and love.
And, if that’s not a message of hope…Then I don’t know what is.
Because, the essence of God is pure unconditional Love…
And that cannot be purchased.
Hope and Love are Simple, Free gifts.
It doesn’t take a Biblical scholar to figure this out!
They come under the heading called -- Grace.
It was in the midst of a cold Maine winter in 1848,
when the Shaker hymn writer Joseph Brackett, once wrote –
“‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of Love and Delight.”
It seems to me this is exactly
where June is today, isn’t she?
With the Resurrected Christ,
surrounded by Love and Delight.
June Hume Einhorn
Today, as you enter the New Jerusalem…
We lift you to God.
We left you to God with all the love of our heart and say…
good bye and thank you in the very same breath.
Thank you for your loving presence in our lives…
You will always be loved.
Amen.
