Sunday, July 23 - The Jesus Team
John 1:35-51
Deborah Laforet
The Jesus Team
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
In March of 2021, we gathered in this space and on Zoom for our annual meeting and to discuss a new governance model for this church. Instead of a Council with committees and representative committees chairs on Council, we went to a more simplified model. The goal was that there would be fewer teams or committees and a smaller, more focused Board. One member on the Board would oversee Property Management - thank you, Harold. Another would oversee matters of Spiritual Leadership, like outreach, worship, and faith formation - thank you, Allyson. A third would oversee Church Leadership, like volunteers and staff, leading our Ministry and Personnel Committee - thank you, Jeff.
One of the reasons we went to this model is because we didn’t have the number of volunteers anymore needed to sustain a large governance structure, and after two years of living into this model, these three mentioned roles don’t do a lot of supervision of teams. They either do the work themselves or they trust that individuals will take on the work when they feel called. And these individuals have come forward. Keeping our sanctuary looking beautiful every morning with flowers - thanks, Carol Anne. Managing ushers, our lemonade on the lawn and coffee in Watt Hall, and even keeping our seasonal banners up to date - thank you, Rob. Finding volunteers to read scripture - thank you, Julie. Our newsletter that goes out regularly - thanks, Candy. We are represented at the outreach group of Oakville United churches - thanks, Shirley Anne. Recently seniors are gathering for coffee on Thursdays - thank you, Selina.
Now, I know I’m getting myself in trouble by naming names because I could spend all morning telling you about our wonderful volunteers, and I would still probably forget someone, but the point I’m trying to make, is that everyone here supports the work of this community, in one way or another. Some have been doing it for a lifetime, while others who are new to us, grace us with their presence, their voices, their financial offerings, and with their grace as they sit and wonder what this church is all about and what they are planning for the future.
Our new Board, as of two years ago, has been given the space to do important discernment. Along with Jeff, Allyson, and Harold, are Judy DeMone, who keep an eye on finances, Kent, our self-professed reluctant leader, and Candy, who has bravely stepped forward to be chair elect, Jenn, who recently decided, very intentionally, to become more involved by becoming the secretary of our board. This group of people, over the past two years, but especially over the past year, have worked hard, sometimes at last minute, late night meetings, at weekend gatherings with prospective partners, lots of time learning the language of church visioning and redevelopment, persistence in conversations with other United churches in Oakville, doing reports, presentations and research, all while knowing that the work they were doing was risky and emotional, that they were leading this community towards a big change.
I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but I also thinking friendships have been developed, laughter and tears shared, and a deep knowing that this work would change them and this community, would in fact transform us, that third word in our mission statement - connect, engage, transform. This group of people has bonded as a team. Eventually this team will change, new people will be added, others will take a break, but hopefully, the qualities of this team will be passed on for others to appreciate.
I’m back for just four Sundays before I leave for the second part of my sabbatical. For the next four Sundays, I’m going to preach on the stories the children will be exploring during our summer camp, which are all stories about ordinary heroes. Today’s was from the gospel of John, as you heard from Elizabeth. In the VBS curriculum, it’s entitled, “Jesus Builds the Team,” which I found to be an misnomer. You were listening, right? Did Jesus build this team? In other gospels, we do hear Jesus calling to people to follow him, but in John’s gospel he seems to have a more passive role.
John the Baptist announces the arrival of Jesus, calling him the Lamb of God and the Chosen One, convincing two of his own followers to leave and follow Jesus. In the story, Jesus turns and sees them following him, and says, “What are you looking for?” seeming surprised to see them there. They ask him where he was staying and he says, “Come and see.” One of these followers decides to invite his brother Simon to join them. Jesus meets Simon and decides to rename him Peter, or “The Rock.” Maybe because he looked like this? (show picture of Dwayne Johnson) For those of you who don’t know, this is a celebrity named Dwayne Johnson who is more popularly known as “The Rock.” More probably, Jesus saw in Simon Peter the ability to be the foundation of the gospel he would preach.
The next day, Jesus says to Phillip, the only person he says this to in this gospel, “Follow me.” Jesus does not say these words again until after his resurrection. That’s another day’s sermon. Phillip decides to invite his friend, Nathaneal, to come and listen to this man from Nazareth, to which Nathaneal says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” But he decides to try anyway and he also becomes a follower.
So, Jesus doesn’t so much as build this team as others build it for him. Although we only hear about these men, we know it was a variety of people, different genders, different ages, different status, sometimes different cultures. Some of these people scattered after his death, but many continued to follow, continued to be a part of this team, this Jesus team, spreading the gospel and working to build God’s kingdom on earth.
Which is what we continue to do today. Today, we are the Jesus team. We have been invited. We have been called. We have been inspired. We gather in this space because we want to sing the praises of the Sacred and Divine in our world, because we want to learn the ancient truths of our faith, because we want to grow together in our understanding of the wisdom of Christ, and because we want to build a world where all can thrive, where all can love, where all can live in peace, with room to grow and become.
It’s not that Jesus doesn’t build the team, but sometimes it happens through the call of others, a stirring in our hearts and bodies, or a loud or faint calling (Arise!). Whatever draws us here, we are a part of team, a local team here at St. Paul’s or here in Oakville, or a larger team with the United Church of Canada or the Christian church around the world, or a team of people of all faiths and all walks of life, who want to heal this world and hear it sing.
I’m very aware that we have a big decision to make today. It’s a decision that could drastically change the way we do our ministry, but I want to emphasize that it is changing, not ending. We are a community, a team, a family, that enjoys each other, that nurtures and cares for one another and the community in which we are located, one that is growing and exploring what our faith looks like today, one that is continuing to be the presence of Christ in this world. The recommendation from the Board is not to close our church; it is to sell our property. The intention is not to shut down this amazing Jesus team but to see how it might bloom without the restrictions of managing a building and with the collaboration of partners.
There is lots of dreaming happening right now, alongside the grief that goes with moving, with changing, with letting go of an old vision and learning to embrace another. If we vote to sell, we will not expected to pick up and move tomorrow. As developers do what they do, we will have time to settle into our decision, to further develop our relationship with our partners, and to dream and imagine the new life of this community, in a new space, with new partners, with a new vision, as we strive to become a ministry that is integral to the health and well being of the people in our community, offering a harmonious space, a space of care and comfort, a space where we will continue to worship and sing, and grow as a family of Christ.
Catherine chose an appropriate anthem for today, and I want to make sure that we heard the words that were sung by our choir.
You taught my heart what love can be, so I’m headed back home by another road.
I once was bound but now am free, I’m headed back home by another road.
The lights are on, the welcome warm, as we’re headed back home be another road.
There’s room for every person born as we’re headed back home by another road.
Join me now, the road is wide, all God’s children side by side,
justice will shine and love abide, we’re headed back home by another road.
We are in this together, side by side. God’s love surrounds us. We may be deciding to take another road, a hidden road, a risky road, and adventurous road, but the lights are on, the welcome warm, and no matter where we go, we’re headed back home. Thanks be to God. Amen.