November 14, 1998
We have come to this Celebration of New Ministry one year too soon. You, the people of St. Margaret's Parish, had hoped and expected that Brad Hall would be the one to present the organ and this new chancel to Bishop Hughes tomorrow; that you would celebrate Brad's 65th birthday and retirement together next spring; and that the fifth rector of this wonderful parish would arrive next fall. Robbie and I had planned to be in Scottsdale another five years. But circumstances of life both here and in Arizona transpired to change all of our hopes about the timing of the changes that have rolled over us in the past eighteen months.
So tonight we have come one year too soon to this Celebration of New Ministry. The big question before us is "what will be different?" I am quite confident that the answer to that question is "nothing of substance." The Vision for the mission and ministry of St. Margaret's Parish does not change with a change of clergy leadership _ not if that Vision was God's to begin with. God's vision for this parish was articulated with great eloquence by his servant Brad Hall; that vision has been reviewed and validated throughout the interim year and as recently as one month ago by the Vestry and School Board. God's vision for this parish will continue to give us work to do in the Kingdom for the next fourteen years of my tenure as your rector; and I am confident that the sixth rector will discover in 2013 that St. Margaret's continues to be a beacon on the hill, drawing people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
I believe that the differences we shall experience are the differences of growth and maturity. Personality and style will certainly be different; but that is a matter of God's creative variety. As we grow together over the next decade and more, I think we might liken our movement as one from youth to adulthood. St. Margaret's is already a strong, healthy, dynamic parish. In order to remain so, we will exercise, broaden our horizons, increase our depth and continue to strive to discern God's will for us as a community of faith. Because we stand on the tall and broad shoulders of those who have gone before, we will see farther and wider into the Kingdom of God.
God's vision of St. Margaret's beyond 2000 is for us to build on the foundation that has been so well laid, to build our heart as a caring, compassionate incarnation of Christ on earth. On October 4, the Vestry and School Board met with a planning consultant, and in the course of our day together established our immediate, short, and long-term goals. Tonight I would like to take a few minutes to speak about the various facets of our life and mission as they unfold before us in the next eighteen months, the next five years, and the next ten years.
SERVICE
It has been said that the primary purpose of the Church is for the good of those outside of its own number. One thrust of that statement speaks of our commitment to community service, caring for people in transition and crisis. We need always be known as "the church that cares." The Outreach Commission, the Cellar Door, and our school are among the highly respected and successful efforts we make in providing resources of time, energy, and money to benefit people outside of our own parish.
Each of them could fill an hour of discussion, but the school is of special interest because we must make some decisions about bringing it to maturity. Over the next five years we will address the question of what more can we do on our present campus. Obviously, we must work for continuous improvement to insure that we always provide the best possible, age appropriate education in the Coachella Valley. Tuitions must be affordable, our student body must be properly recruited and selected, teachers trained and adequately compensated. We must also answer the demanding question of what more can we do on our present Parish campus to provide early childhood development space and additional space for the ages we currently teach. In the ten year time frame we will be looking for partners to investigate another campus for any expansion into higher grades. Since the cost of such expansion would be in excess of $10,000,000 in today's economy, we need to take the role of catalyst and leader in bringing together other Episcopal churches in the area and other Christian bodies to make this dream into a reality.
WORSHIP
A second area of our life in Christ that effects all of us is our worship. The Book of Common Prayer is my second favorite book, next to the Bible. It is filled with rich liturgies and prayers that have historically formed the church and deepened individual commitment to Christ. For instance, the Methodist movement of the 18th century resulted from the devout use of this book. To further broaden and deepen our experience and use of this wonderful tool, we will mark the seasons of the church year by purposeful change in the elements and prayers of the Eucharist. The first of those books has been in use during the fall of this year. A second will cover the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Lent will be given a distinctive character in a third choice of selections. Easter will be marked by a joyful celebration of the Resurrection. And the summer will be simplified for our reduced congregation during the months when so many of us are absent.
Now that the new organ is in use, my hope is that we will become a strong, singing congregation at all of our worship services as we lift our voices in praise to Almighty God. What counts in hymnody is the quality of the heart, not the quality of the voice; and I will never stop encouraging people to offer back to God in praise the voice he has given each of us.
Preaching from this lectern must also be of the very highest quality as each of your priests seeks to witness in word to the saving grace of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For that to happen, all of us will be expected to preach every week at one or more of our five regularly scheduled services. The more we preach, the better we will get; and the better we get, the more you will be blessed by the word that God intends for you to hear.
EDUCATION
Another vital part of our Sunday experience is to be found in our educational efforts for children, youth, and adults of all ages. We are asking each one of you to dedicate 10% of your Sunday _ a little over 2 hours _ to study, worship, and fellowship. Through the interaction between student, teacher, and Scripture, we shall grow in spiritual depth and Christian commitment. Our educational offerings will be at 9:00 so that both Sunday congregations can conveniently attend; and so that our children can worship with us around the Holy Table. Fellowship time in class and after services will provide informal time to get to know each other better and to share the light of Christ among ourselves. We will also offer additional classes for youth and adults on Wednesday and other times during the week as we seek to know Christ and to make him known.
EVANGELISM
Making him known moves us into the area of evangelism, of attracting and incorporating others into the household of God here at St. Margaret's. In the past year we have added three staff members, led by Father Sean Cox, to focus on evangelism among the growing number of young adults and families moving to the Palm Desert area. It is a great joy to see how Christ is working in the generations under 50 and we anticipate large numbers of them being led to this place. But we need to provide two facilities within the year in order to help these young families stay with us. The first is a truly adequate space for children between birth and four years of age. The Vestry is considering placing a 3500 square foot facility where the basketball court is now to meet this need, and to convert the green area beside it into a modern play yard for the 75 children who could be housed in the building. Our lack of child care facilities is currently stifling our growth. The benefit to the church would be immeasurable; the possibility for the school would be to offer early childhood programs for preschoolers. What we need now is an angel or two to help us fund its construction.
When that facility is in operation, we will be able to convert the old nursery space into a meeting space for teens. While still inadequate by some standards, it will be a step in the right direction as we seek to awaken the light of Christ in this important age group.
PASTORAL CARE
At the other end of our life on this planet is the ministry we do among the elders of our community. Pastoral Care is the heart and soul of a strong Christian Body. The ministry I had in Arizona was to provide appropriate care to people in all kinds of crisis, infirmity, and circumstance. I have asked Father Dan Rondeau to take charge of this vital ministry here at St. Margaret's. We want to care for you when you are in the hospital, confined to your homes, bereaved, or in any other circumstance of change. If we are to be known as the Church with a Heart we _ clergy and laity alike _ must be present in an appropriate and helpful manner to be the loving and healing arms of Christ for each other.
Two years ago, Father Hall proposed a vision for the construction of an eldercare facility here in the Valley. The Vestry recently put the idea on our long-range ten-year plan. The recent sale of the Carlotta means that there is now no non-profit care facility in our area; so perhaps we need to take a second look at that part of our vision. The good news is that Good Samaritan has turned over in excess of one million dollars to the Desert Samaritans who have for over a decade provided charitable funds for the operation of the Carlotta. It seems to me that we as a parish would do well to join forces with the Desert Samaritans, many of whom are our own members anyway, to ensure the existence of non-profit, affordable care for the elder members of the Coachella Valley communities.
Of course, life does end for each of us at some time; and it is ancient human and Christian practice to provide final resting places for the temporal remains of the saints of God when we leave this pilgrimage. As cremation gains acceptance among us, a columbarium in which to respectfully place the remains is an appropriate and holy undertaking, not only as a mark of honor for the deceased, but also as a sign of continued love and concern for the bereaved. The undercroft of the church, the amphitheater outside the chapel, and the memorial wall between the church and Karns Hall provide three potential locations for the placement of niches. Perhaps there are others. Your Vestry is currently soliciting interest in such a project and will be prepared by February to make a decision of when, where, and if we will proceed.
STEWARDSHIP
All of these elements of our life together should come as no surprise to any of you. You have been working toward them for the last 15 years, and we shall continue to work toward them for the next 15. Most of our calling to be an effective community of faith requires people _ as teachers, students, caregivers, workers, volunteers, pray-ers, and worshippers. Some of what we need to do requires US currency. It will take in excess of one million dollars next year, and every year, to accomplish our mission and ministry. It will take money to maintain the facilities you have already built and to complete any further facilities we determine may be necessary in the future.
Peter Brennan works with us to enable us to plan our gifts beyond our own lives to benefit the work of St. Margaret's well into the future. The Vestry is in the process of establishing an Endowment Committee to receive and invest funds that come through bequests and special gifts so that facility maintenance, capital replacement, and special ministries can be funded from beneficence rather than from annual tithes and offerings. We are also working to enlarge the School endowment to provide funds for scholarships and operations in that ministry. In addition to your own personal benevolence, some of you may be able to direct gifts from foundations into our own endowment funds. It is important to our effectiveness as a beacon on the hill to have a facility that speaks of our devotion to the King of the Universe. Proper and timely maintenance and grounds beautification will attract people to come inside where they can meet us and the Risen Lord.
LEADERSHIP
In every facet of our life together _ service, worship, education, evangelism, pastoral care, and stewardship _ the element that will hold it all together is allowing ourselves to be led by Jesus Christ and to offer ourselves in leadership in and out of the church, in the parish and in the diocese and beyond. We have been very good about leadership in the parish and in civic life on the local, state, and national levels. We also need to offer leadership to the larger church through the Diocese of San Diego. We must send people to work in the diocese as delegates, committee members and officers. Our cup truly overflows with outstanding people of outstanding capabilities. The Bishop, the Diocese, the Episcopal Church, the Lord Jesus Christ needs us to work in ever widening circles. Leadership is a great gift that we can offer for the good of God's Kingdom.
Tonight we have come one year too soon to this Celebration of New Ministry; but we come with Christ at our head to lead us into the future. The big question before us is "what will be different?" I am quite confident that the answer to that question is "nothing of substance." Personality and style will certainly be different; but that is a matter of God's creative variety. As we grow together over the next decade and more, I think we might liken our movement as one from youth to adulthood. St. Margaret's is already a strong, healthy, dynamic parish. In order to remain so, we will exercise, broaden our horizons, increase our depth and continue to strive to discern God's will for us as a community of faith. Because we stand on the tall and broad shoulders of those who have gone before, we will see farther and wider into the Kingdom of God.
The Rev. Dr. Robert G. Certain
rgcertain@stmargarets.org
14 November 1998