Sermon at Diocesan Convention, Oct. 13, 2007
Bishop Anthony Poggo, Diocese of Kajo-Keji
Isaiah 2:2-4, Ephesians 2:13-22, Luke 10:1-9
It is my pleasure to speak to you this morning. I would like to thank Bishop Paul for inviting me to be present at this important Convention and also for asking me to speak at this Eucharist. The theme of our talk this morning is “For the Mission of the Church”. Let me begin by making some definitions.
What is Mission?
One of the definitions given by the Oxford Dictionary is “the work of teaching people about Christianity, especially in a foreign country”. The other definition is “particular work that you feel it is your duty to do”. I would like to see the concept of Mission in a much broader context than just teaching Christianity. It is teaching Christianity, living it and ministering in a holistic way or integral way i.e. meeting the needs of the body, soul and spirit.
In our Gospel reading, we read the story of how Jesus sent 72 people to go ahead of him into all the towns and places where he was about to go. He wanted them to be part of His mission to the world. He told them that although the harvest is plentiful, there are few workers, but that the Lord who is the Lord of the Harvest is the one who sends the workers. He sent them to preach, teach and heal, that is, to undertake the wholistic mission of meeting the spiritual and physical needs. .
In v. 4, he instructs them not to take any purse or bag. Theirs was to rely on Him. When we receive God’s call, we should answer His call. Our response should be “here I am send me”. The modern trend is that when we are hired to do a job, we negotiated what our remuneration is. As Christian workers this should not be the main reason why we do what we do. We should see it as our ministry to that Lord. He will provide us as we undertake it. Recently, I came to make this realisation that when God gives you a vision for a mission, he provides. When God is for a vision, i.e. if he is “pro” a vision. He will provide the provision, because he is “pro” the “vision” – hence the English word “provision”. Many of our pastors in the Diocese of Kajo-Keji have been volunteers for the last 20 years.
From vv. 5 to 6, Jesus says that the message preached should be the message of peace, the message of the Kingdom. In v. 7 He again says rely on the people who I am sending you to. Eat what they eat. According to v.9, the Preaching of the good news should also include the healing of the sick. This can happen through prayers or through ministry through medical field. When they came back, there was excitement. Jesus said they should rejoice that their names are written in heaven. We have been giving the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. This is His mission through us; we are in a “co-mission” that is to say that we “co-workers” or working together with him.
Does the Mission of the Church include a Social Concern in Ministry?
As I mentioned before, I believe that the Mission of the Church should be to the whole person namely body, soul and spirit in other words meeting the spiritual and physical needs of the disciple. Hence Jesus sent his disciples to teach, heal and preach. When Jesus embarked on his ministry, he gave an address in Nazareth in Luke 4:18-19. This is what he said:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to released the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
This verse has been referred to as the Nazarene Manifesto. It is our manifesto as Christians. Luke 4:18 says that Jesus’ ministry was aimed not only at the spiritual need, but both physical and spiritual. Preaching of the good news should be holistic. You cannot go and preach the good news and leave the person to die due from lack of food.
During the war many places in Sudan experienced a real meaning to the Lord’s Prayer especially where we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”. This is because it meant a lot as they prayed it in reality. In other parts of the world, this is not the case, as often one would have such bread in the fridge or nearest supermarket. James argues in his letter that our faith should be seen in our good work. This means that the mission of the Church should be a mission to the whole person.
The recent launch of the New Hope campaign is indeed one of the ways that the Diocese of Bethlehem is remaining true to the total mission of the Church. You wisely chose to assist the Diocese of Kajo-Keji as well as some parts of Pennsylvania where there are the poor. I appreciate the commitment of your Bishop and the entire Diocese in this worthwhile campaign. Indeed this will bring hope to a situation of hopelessness to a people who have known nothing but war and poverty. Related to this is ignorance and disease. I would like to assure you that this campaign will impact many lives and will bring change to many people.
Although the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has been signed between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party, many people have not yet seen tangible fruits of this peace. Some of the protocols of the Agreement have not also been implemented. We appreciate that now we have peace, there is no fear from aerial bombardment; we also have freedom to travel anywhere in Southern Sudan, although we in Kajo-Keji still have to travel south through Uganda to go north to any part of Sudan.
The prophecy of Isaiah 2:4 where swords were converted into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks is not yet fulfilled in terms of the Southern Sudan context. In contrast to this, when a peace treaty was signed in Mozambique in 1992, they found out that the Mozambique was awash with guns and many landmines. The Christian Council of Mozambique then came up with a plan to exchange guns for sewing machines, ploughing instruments, bicycles and seed grain. The church there converted tools of war into useful tools, as we read in this passage.
For us in Southern Sudan, not all areas of Southern Sudan are enjoying the fruits of the agreement. This is due to the non-implementation of the all the terms of the CPA; the SPLM leader recently said that Southern Sudan could easily go back to war. Pray with us that the CPA is implemented.
Update on the CPA
The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the SPLM and the National Congress Party, has given hope to the people of Southern Sudan. Although many people have not yet seen tangible fruits of this peace, there is now freedom of movement, a functional government in Southern Sudan, some roads are being repaired, schools being rebuilt. In Kajo-Keji, we have seen some people constructing shops, houses, schools being built by some NGOs. The roads in Kajo-Keji are still among the challenges.
Having said that there are still many challenges to the CPA. This week we heard news from Juba that the SPLM has withdrawn from the Government of National Unity (GoNU). This means that the SPLM ministers and advisors will not participate in the government. Apart from the non implementation of the CPA, one of the issues cited is the right of the SPLM to reshuffle its members in government. Some of the aspects of the CPA that still need to be implemented include:
1. Lack of Transparency on the Exploitation and Sharing of Oil revenue.
The NCP has not been transparent on the actual income of the oil revenues. The CPA stipulates that 50% of the oil revenue from oil fields found in Southern Sudan should go to the Government of Southern Sudan. The income expected is less than what was anticipated. There is belief that this is not the correct revenue.
2. The North South Border:
The NCP has intentionally avoided implementing the CPA provisions on issues pertaining to the South – North border demarcation. This has implication on the right level of income from the oil revenue. Because the correct border has not been determined, it means that the GOSS is not getting a correct level of its oil revenue.
3. The Withdrawal of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) from Southern Sudan.
According to the CPA, the Sudan Armed Forces should have redeployed its forces from the south by July 9th, 2007. While the majority of the SPLA have withdrawn from the North, this has not been reciprocated by SAF.
4. The Abyei Protocol
The NCP has refused to implement the Protocol on Abyei. It has also refused to implement the Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC) Report which was carefully and thoroughly researched and written by international and national experts.
5. Delay in formation & operationalisation of various Commissions of the CPA.
The NCP has been slow in the formation and operationalisation of a number of commissions and other institutions as stipulated by the CPA. These include the Census Commissions, the Civil service reform.
What is the way forward?
It is important for the international community to bring pressure to bear on the NCP. I call on you to urge your government to bring pressure on the National Congress Party to implement the whole of the CPA and not do it selectively.
The full implementation of CPA could be a blue print for settling the conflict in Darfur. The media and international attention on the conflict in Darfur has been at the expense of the implementation of the CPA.
The involvement of the church in reconciliation
In the reading from the book of Ephesians 2:13 we are reminded that Christ death on the Cross reconciled us to God. He made peace between God and us. He also reconciled believing Jews and believing Gentiles. It is because of his death that I am here and can indeed see you here, as my brothers and sisters in Christ and that is why you thought of New Hope campaign. In v.18 we read that it is because of this that we have access to the Father and making us members of this family. One of our Sudanese bishops says that we are all people of God but those who accept the Cross become children of God. That is why, in verse 19, we read that we are no longer foreigners and aliens but members of this household. Regardless of where you are, as long as you are a believer, you are a member of this household and this family of Christ.
I would like to encourage each one of you in this ministry of reconciliation. I would like to encourage you to undertake a wholistic ministry in your mission, meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the people. It is important that there is a balance made between the physical and spiritual needs of the people. You cannot do one without the other and claim to be doing the mission of the Church.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Sunday, October 07, 2007
19th Sunday after Pentecost: Know Your Story
The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
2 Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10
Welcome to the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania! Do you know where you are? Do you know the story of Nativity? Are the names Packer, Sayre, and Linderman familiar to you? These are some of the names found on the memorial plaques along the walls of this Cathedral Church. So, let me tell you a story. It may be quite familiar to some of you, but here we go. Bethlehem was settled by the Moravians in the 1740s as a faith community with a missionary purpose. By the nineteenth century, it was also a popular summer spot for folks from New York City and Philadelphia. Among its attributes and favorite places of respite was the Sun Inn, then (and now) to be found on Main Street. Then came coal, canals and railroads.
When the coal fields of this region were discovered, transporting this commodity became an industry. A canal was opened up from Mauch Chunk to Easton to deliver coal. From Easton it was easily transported to Philadelphia and New York (if Mauch Chunk is not familiar to you, you may know it as Jim Thorpe; the town changed its name in 1954 to honor its famous hometown athlete). Enter Asa Packer, a familiar name around here, who knew a more efficient way to transport coal than by canal and built the railroad from Mauch Chunk to Easton the early 1850s. This Lehigh Valley Railroad was only the second such railroad in the United States. Robert Sayre was his chief engineer.
William Sayre, Sr., Robert’s father, and Asa Packer were friends and colleagues. In 1835, they were among the founders of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mauch Chunk. Family friends had been gathering regularly in William Sayre’s living room for prayer and worship, and eventually a parish was formed. The life of the Sayre family continued to be centered in St. Mark’s and Mauch Chunk until mid century. In 1857 the Lehigh Valley Railroad was joined by North Pennsylvania Railroad just south of the Lehigh River making South Bethlehem a destination. Robert Sayre moved from Mauch Chunk to Bethlehem to manage the Leigh Valley Railroad and he soon succeeded Asa Packer as director of newly formed Bethlehem Iron Company. He built a beautiful home in South Bethlehem, overlooking the Lehigh River and the railroad. It is still there, across the street from us, now known as the Sayre Mansion Inn. Soon, like his parents before him, he gathered with friends and family in his home for regular worship. Records indicate that on June 16, 1861 the assistant priest from St. Mark’s came and held services. Robert’s brother, William Sayre, Jr., also moved to South Bethlehem and built his house (now the funeral home) across from his brother. In May of 1862, they and their friends met in Robert’s home and agreed to form a parish. Thus St. Mark’s in Jim Thorpe is the “Mother Church” of Nativity.
The parish began first with a church school of 52 students. William Sayre Jr. became the superintendent in the fall of 1862, a position he kept for 47 years until his death in 1909. He was loved by the children. Regular Sunday services began September 7th and have continued without a break to this day. The vestry was formally constituted on November 8, 1862 the official date of the start of the parish. First—education and youth ministry. Second—regular worship. Third—recognition and solidification of leadership. These were the building blocks of this parish. Services and Sunday school were held at the railroad station as parishioners sought to build a moderate chapel, and one that must include Sunday school rooms. The vestry bought an acre of land (this acre we are currently occupying) for $350. The corner stone was placed on August 6, 1864 and the first service in the church building was Christmas Day 1864.
The good people of Nativity didn’t stop there:
• in 1866 Lehigh University opened its doors, its president a member of this parish and Nativity’s first rector, Mr. Eliphalet Potter, the professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy and Christian Evidences (his brother Edward Potter was the architect of Nativity).
• 1868 Bishopthorpe School for Girls opened, founded by parishioners
• the folks of Nativity helped build Grace Church in Allentown
• they started a Sunday School on the North side of Bethlehem which became Trinity Church
• In 1873 St. Luke’s hospital opened, a dream of then rector the Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead
• Thus, by 1885 the moderate chapel they had built was no longer large enough and new construction began
Ruth May Sayre, daughter of Robert Sayre, was the first child baptized at Nativity. She married Robert Linderman and their daughter Ruth Evelyn was the first child baptized in the newly expanded church. You can read this in histories of Bethlehem or in our own parish publication, “One Hundred years of Nativity.” You can read it on the memorial plaques along these the walls. And I have only told the first chapter!
Now it may seem that this story of Nativity and its beginnings would more appropriately have been our Dean’s story to tell today. After all, he is the one who grew up at St. Mark’s Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe and played in the cemetery where all the Sayres are buried. But it is my story too, even though I only moved to Bethlehem 8 years ago. And although there are many here who can tell the story differently than I, and have a longer claim on it, it is now part of my life and I am part of it. We are all in its current this morning, even if you are visiting.
Knowing and telling our story is important. Episcopal priest Jerome Berryman, who directs the Center for the Theology of the Child in Texas, discovered the incredible power of storytelling working with troubled families. He was part of a counseling team treating families with suicidal children. They discovered that all the families had one thing in common; they didn’t tell stories. Not about how mom and dad met, not about where their family came from, not about births, deaths, vacations or anything. So they taught the families how to tell their stories. And once they did, the children stopped acting out and the families began to heal..
There is another reason why telling our story is important. Because that is how faith is passed on. Not one of us would be here if the story of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ was not passed on. And after all, how did Jesus teach the people about God’s love for them? He told stories. This is what is so important about Paul’s letter to Timothy, a beloved friend. It is a testimony to the power of passing on the faith. This is a letter to a second generation Christian. Paul writes to encourage Timothy to hold fast to his faith. Where did this faith come from? “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” Faith is not something that is learned as much as it is absorbed. Faith is about our story, about relationships. There is research that shows that most adults who are faithful will point not to a church, but to a person who modeled that faith to them: a parent, a grandmother, a beloved uncle or godparent.
Now our faith story, any faith story, is not always easy to be a part of. This is because being part of God’s story of salvation is not so much about having faith, as it is about being faithful. This is what Jesus was getting at with the disciples. “Increase our faith!” they cry. If we only had more faith then we could…. You fill in the blank. Jesus’ response is that they do not need more. If your faith is only the size of a mustard seed, it is plenty. Because it is not about having a certain amount of faith, it is about being faithful. Another way to think about this: the opposite of faith is not doubt, but unfaith. What are we faithful to? Where do our loyalties lie? And it is when the going gets rough that our faith is tested. When disaster strikes, in our country, in our church, or in our personal lives, this is when we are called to be faithful. It is easy to have faith in our government when we agree with its policies. It is easy to have faith in our church when we are comfortable in our pews. It is easy to be faithful in our relationships when everything is going smoothly.
I am sure the story of the Sayre family and the beginning of Nativity was not as smooth as I told it. How was their faith tested? Like Timothy, I also have a grandmother and a mother who faithful (even Episcopalians) and they passed that faith on to me. I wonder how their faith was tested over the years. What brought them to their knees? What brought tears to their eyes? When were they about to walk away from it all? What kept them faithful? The disciples ask for more faith. But they do not need more; they need to exercise the faith they have. To remain steadfast and faithful even in the midst of trouble takes a dynamic faith.
Being faithful can be hard and painful. It’s like giving a gift. You know how a young child gives her little brother the gift she really wants, and then won’t let him play with it? You have to let go to truly give. I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. It is like giving our money to a cause, but then wanting to dictate how that money is used. I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. And this is like giving my life to God—I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. We have no control over how or when or in what way our faith is tested. Being faithful does not guarantee a life without stress. A dynamic faith is one that knows its story. A dynamic faith knows where it came from and is hopeful about where it is going. Ultimately, faith is about what and where God is calling me to be. Where is God calling you to be? This is the only question. And only you can answer it.
Amen
Copyright © 2007 by Anne E. Kitch
2 Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10
Welcome to the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania! Do you know where you are? Do you know the story of Nativity? Are the names Packer, Sayre, and Linderman familiar to you? These are some of the names found on the memorial plaques along the walls of this Cathedral Church. So, let me tell you a story. It may be quite familiar to some of you, but here we go. Bethlehem was settled by the Moravians in the 1740s as a faith community with a missionary purpose. By the nineteenth century, it was also a popular summer spot for folks from New York City and Philadelphia. Among its attributes and favorite places of respite was the Sun Inn, then (and now) to be found on Main Street. Then came coal, canals and railroads.
When the coal fields of this region were discovered, transporting this commodity became an industry. A canal was opened up from Mauch Chunk to Easton to deliver coal. From Easton it was easily transported to Philadelphia and New York (if Mauch Chunk is not familiar to you, you may know it as Jim Thorpe; the town changed its name in 1954 to honor its famous hometown athlete). Enter Asa Packer, a familiar name around here, who knew a more efficient way to transport coal than by canal and built the railroad from Mauch Chunk to Easton the early 1850s. This Lehigh Valley Railroad was only the second such railroad in the United States. Robert Sayre was his chief engineer.
William Sayre, Sr., Robert’s father, and Asa Packer were friends and colleagues. In 1835, they were among the founders of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mauch Chunk. Family friends had been gathering regularly in William Sayre’s living room for prayer and worship, and eventually a parish was formed. The life of the Sayre family continued to be centered in St. Mark’s and Mauch Chunk until mid century. In 1857 the Lehigh Valley Railroad was joined by North Pennsylvania Railroad just south of the Lehigh River making South Bethlehem a destination. Robert Sayre moved from Mauch Chunk to Bethlehem to manage the Leigh Valley Railroad and he soon succeeded Asa Packer as director of newly formed Bethlehem Iron Company. He built a beautiful home in South Bethlehem, overlooking the Lehigh River and the railroad. It is still there, across the street from us, now known as the Sayre Mansion Inn. Soon, like his parents before him, he gathered with friends and family in his home for regular worship. Records indicate that on June 16, 1861 the assistant priest from St. Mark’s came and held services. Robert’s brother, William Sayre, Jr., also moved to South Bethlehem and built his house (now the funeral home) across from his brother. In May of 1862, they and their friends met in Robert’s home and agreed to form a parish. Thus St. Mark’s in Jim Thorpe is the “Mother Church” of Nativity.
The parish began first with a church school of 52 students. William Sayre Jr. became the superintendent in the fall of 1862, a position he kept for 47 years until his death in 1909. He was loved by the children. Regular Sunday services began September 7th and have continued without a break to this day. The vestry was formally constituted on November 8, 1862 the official date of the start of the parish. First—education and youth ministry. Second—regular worship. Third—recognition and solidification of leadership. These were the building blocks of this parish. Services and Sunday school were held at the railroad station as parishioners sought to build a moderate chapel, and one that must include Sunday school rooms. The vestry bought an acre of land (this acre we are currently occupying) for $350. The corner stone was placed on August 6, 1864 and the first service in the church building was Christmas Day 1864.
The good people of Nativity didn’t stop there:
• in 1866 Lehigh University opened its doors, its president a member of this parish and Nativity’s first rector, Mr. Eliphalet Potter, the professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy and Christian Evidences (his brother Edward Potter was the architect of Nativity).
• 1868 Bishopthorpe School for Girls opened, founded by parishioners
• the folks of Nativity helped build Grace Church in Allentown
• they started a Sunday School on the North side of Bethlehem which became Trinity Church
• In 1873 St. Luke’s hospital opened, a dream of then rector the Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead
• Thus, by 1885 the moderate chapel they had built was no longer large enough and new construction began
Ruth May Sayre, daughter of Robert Sayre, was the first child baptized at Nativity. She married Robert Linderman and their daughter Ruth Evelyn was the first child baptized in the newly expanded church. You can read this in histories of Bethlehem or in our own parish publication, “One Hundred years of Nativity.” You can read it on the memorial plaques along these the walls. And I have only told the first chapter!
Now it may seem that this story of Nativity and its beginnings would more appropriately have been our Dean’s story to tell today. After all, he is the one who grew up at St. Mark’s Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe and played in the cemetery where all the Sayres are buried. But it is my story too, even though I only moved to Bethlehem 8 years ago. And although there are many here who can tell the story differently than I, and have a longer claim on it, it is now part of my life and I am part of it. We are all in its current this morning, even if you are visiting.
Knowing and telling our story is important. Episcopal priest Jerome Berryman, who directs the Center for the Theology of the Child in Texas, discovered the incredible power of storytelling working with troubled families. He was part of a counseling team treating families with suicidal children. They discovered that all the families had one thing in common; they didn’t tell stories. Not about how mom and dad met, not about where their family came from, not about births, deaths, vacations or anything. So they taught the families how to tell their stories. And once they did, the children stopped acting out and the families began to heal..
There is another reason why telling our story is important. Because that is how faith is passed on. Not one of us would be here if the story of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ was not passed on. And after all, how did Jesus teach the people about God’s love for them? He told stories. This is what is so important about Paul’s letter to Timothy, a beloved friend. It is a testimony to the power of passing on the faith. This is a letter to a second generation Christian. Paul writes to encourage Timothy to hold fast to his faith. Where did this faith come from? “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” Faith is not something that is learned as much as it is absorbed. Faith is about our story, about relationships. There is research that shows that most adults who are faithful will point not to a church, but to a person who modeled that faith to them: a parent, a grandmother, a beloved uncle or godparent.
Now our faith story, any faith story, is not always easy to be a part of. This is because being part of God’s story of salvation is not so much about having faith, as it is about being faithful. This is what Jesus was getting at with the disciples. “Increase our faith!” they cry. If we only had more faith then we could…. You fill in the blank. Jesus’ response is that they do not need more. If your faith is only the size of a mustard seed, it is plenty. Because it is not about having a certain amount of faith, it is about being faithful. Another way to think about this: the opposite of faith is not doubt, but unfaith. What are we faithful to? Where do our loyalties lie? And it is when the going gets rough that our faith is tested. When disaster strikes, in our country, in our church, or in our personal lives, this is when we are called to be faithful. It is easy to have faith in our government when we agree with its policies. It is easy to have faith in our church when we are comfortable in our pews. It is easy to be faithful in our relationships when everything is going smoothly.
I am sure the story of the Sayre family and the beginning of Nativity was not as smooth as I told it. How was their faith tested? Like Timothy, I also have a grandmother and a mother who faithful (even Episcopalians) and they passed that faith on to me. I wonder how their faith was tested over the years. What brought them to their knees? What brought tears to their eyes? When were they about to walk away from it all? What kept them faithful? The disciples ask for more faith. But they do not need more; they need to exercise the faith they have. To remain steadfast and faithful even in the midst of trouble takes a dynamic faith.
Being faithful can be hard and painful. It’s like giving a gift. You know how a young child gives her little brother the gift she really wants, and then won’t let him play with it? You have to let go to truly give. I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. It is like giving our money to a cause, but then wanting to dictate how that money is used. I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. And this is like giving my life to God—I haven’t given it, if I want to control it. We have no control over how or when or in what way our faith is tested. Being faithful does not guarantee a life without stress. A dynamic faith is one that knows its story. A dynamic faith knows where it came from and is hopeful about where it is going. Ultimately, faith is about what and where God is calling me to be. Where is God calling you to be? This is the only question. And only you can answer it.
Amen
Copyright © 2007 by Anne E. Kitch
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