Steve Howard is a vestry member and has been a member of Memorial since 1995. He is a partner in True Chesapeake Oyster Co. He and Monty live around the corner from the church, next door to Linden Park Apartments.
This past Sunday we read from Jeremiah 8:
“My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. . . . The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
This coming Sunday, we read from Jeremiah 32: “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”
We have gone from despair to hope, in just one week. The people of Jerusalem have had their thinking turned on its head.
Some people despair about Baltimore City. The murders. The violence. The overdoses. And for five days we had to boil our tap water. But we at Memorial see hope. We see courageous people who persevere and overcome obstacles. And we gather every Sunday to remind ourselves of hope. We gather to support and encourage the medical professionals who have been fighting a novel coronavirus for the past 32 months. We gather to support those who are educating the next generation. We gather to support those in our congregation who do justice, day in and day out. A smile. A warm welcome. The cheerful willingness to handle a chore. All of these things offer hope to the beleaguered. And they allow us to participate, indirectly, in the marvelous works of others.
When I had been attending Memorial for just a few months, the rector asked me to join the stewardship committee. I was astonished and said, “Don’t you want someone who has been here longer? Who knows more people?” And he replied by saying that I was the right person, that the committee needed someone new, and besides, working with the group would be a great way to meet people. Who was I to argue? I had always thought of leadership positions as a reward for past service, and here was a church turning my thinking on its head.
I realized that Memorial was a place where new people could dive in, test their skills, demonstrate their skills, and build their capacity. There was no need to sit on the sidelines; Memorial was a place of doers. And a year later, I was also co-leading the Sunday morning Rite 13 youth group.
When we feel beleaguered, is it perhaps because we have failed to allow others to participate in the work? What a great joy it is to say, “WE have done . . .” instead of, “I have done . . . “.
During the sabbatical, we all need to step up and do the rector’s job. Those of us who have been around a while need to astonish the newcomers by asking them to participate in a new way. And newcomers, if they can accept the crazy invitation, or better yet, volunteer before being asked, they will have their lives changed for the better. I guarantee it.
Questions: When has someone turned your thinking on its head? Where in your current life do you need your thinking turned on its head? Who can help with that?