Rector's Charge to the Annual Parish Meeting of
St. Paul's Church by-the-Lake, Chicago, IL. 60626
21 January 2007

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"All the people answered 'Amen. Amen'…then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord. This day is holy to our Lord; do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:6 & 10

I. Let us pray: "Father we pray for thy Holy Catholic Church…." prayerbook pg.816. Did you realize what you said as I ended this beautiful prayer for the Church? Maybe you say it so often that you're unaware of its meaning. Or maybe you don't say it, you grew up not hearing it at the end of prayers, or always let the Priest and others say it for you. The IT is 'Amen'. A small little word, with lots of meaning. Lots of power and unfortunately, lots of apathy! I know, it's not true of all Anglicans, but I grew up in a household where you had to say it and in a parish church where the Altar boys Prayerbooks were all marked with red lines under the Amen's! Even if no one else said it, or no one else was there, we Acolytes had to answer the priest: Amen. So, why? What's the purpose of such a little word?

II. I hope you listened well to the Old Testament Reading today. Maybe it will make more sense if you know that Nehemiah and Ezra were the Governor and Priest appointed by the Persian King Cyrus to resettle the Jewish people back to Jerusalem after they had been in Babylonian Exile for 6 decades. Not only did rebuilding need to get done, but a re-teaching of the Law, the Torah, and the Word of God. The Levites had to help interpret the reading of Scripture because the people no longer understood Hebrew. They had become Aramaic speakers, the language of Babylon, during the Exile. We still today call the part of the Mass where the Scriptures are read just what they called it in Jewish worship: The Word of God, or The Liturgy of the Word.

III. I think this reading from Nehemiah 8 is a good call for us as a Parish in its 125th year of Life. In some ways we can see this as encouragement, for we, as traditional Anglicans, may sometimes feel that we are in our own Babylonian Exile. Oh how we pray to be restored to the fullness of the Faith delivered to us, to our promised inheritance, to the Church Catholic, her faith & liturgy in the Anglican Way. Then what shall we do? The answer is here before us in today's scriptures. We must be prepared to wait, and in waiting not to lose our faith & tradition. We must always be reminding ourselves that as God provided a remnant to restore Israel after the Babylonian Exile, so too we lose not heart, for He has called us to the work of Restoration. Now maybe you think I will use this to jump into the theme of a 'great restoration project' here at St. Paul's for our 125th Anniversary. Such a program is being worked out, and I'm happy to announce today that you will receive a letter explaining a "wish list" of things we hope to get done around here. I hope you will give this "Wish List" a big AMEN in your support.

IV. But that is only my announcement, my real Charge to you this day is to be this People of God's Remnant by a clear and maybe costly action.
First is to be like Nehemiah and Ezra and the people in today's reading: "Filled with Hope". They longed to hear the Word of God, today's reading tells us: "all the people wept when they heard the Word". Oh that we may love God's Word, heard at Mass, preached in Homilies, and studied in Parish Bible Classes.
Second, notice how devoutly the remnant worshipped God- it is because they had been denied it for decades. It brought them to their knees with heads bowed. May we never miss Sunday Mass again!
Third- Every Sunday Mass is an opportunity to be a Witnessing Remnant of God's Love and Presence. How can you welcome the stranger home if you are not here? Just being at Mass every Sunday is making your missionary witness as a Christian. This is such an important step in living our lives for Jesus.
Fourth- From that Step will come the Witness of Ministry both here, doing stuff for the Lord and your parish, and working our goals for mission in other places like the Sudan, the Congo, Kenya, the Westside of Chicago, Nashotah, Wisconsin, and to every person with HIV/AIDS.
Finally, the one thing I hope you will remember for the rest of this 125th year is WHY you say AMEN. The word means to 'confirm, to say yes, to agree'. So I want to hear loud Amen's, not just from Altar boys & the Choir, but from each and every one of you. Make each Amen your own. It is agreeing with the prayer, saying back to the priest: "So be it." Or if you're a bit more hip: "Right On Father."
We are blest as a parish with great faith, we are blest with great talent- but we truly just get by financially. I hope our 125th year will bring us to a great "Amen" in all these areas. Thank you for being God's Remnant People…and in the words of Ezra the priest:

"This day is holy to our Lord; do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(Top of Page)