Last Sermon at St. John's

A Letter to the Church in Franklin

Today is my last Sunday as priest of St. John’s Episcopal Church. While I knew I wouldn't be here forever, I didn't imagine this day coming so soon. I certainly didn't imagine I would end my time here during a global pandemic. As I thought and prayed about this day, I wondered how I would say goodbye and what I would say for the last time from this pulpit. And then I remembered that I am not the first priest to say goodbye. In fact, saying goodbye and wishing a faith community well is so common that it is part of our holy scripture. And so, I thought I would take a page out of St. Paul's book and write you "A Letter to the Church in Franklin," also known as the Epistle to the Northwestern Pennsylvanians.

Salutation

From Elizabeth, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a priest of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To all of God’s beloved in Franklin who are called to be saints: Grace and peace from God our Loving Parent, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Thanksgiving & Prayer

Blessed be our God, who has held us in love throughout our lives. We have made it through this far. Thanks to be God. In our lives, we have witnessed more heartache and pain than we could have imagined, but we have also seen more resilience, bravery, and love than we knew possible. God has been, is, and will always be good. In God, we are fully known and fully loved. In the waters of baptism, we are named and claimed as God's beloved children, and there is nothing we can do to mess that up. God’s Spirit is active and moving in the world. We see the Spirit moving in our worship, in our gathering, and even in the streets.

I give thanks to our God because of you. I give thanks for your determination and desire to be Christ's head, heart, and hands to the world even when it is difficult. I want you to know that I am grateful for your commitment to God and to one another. You have chosen to be committed to this community through thick and through thin. So, I keep you in my prayers. I pray that you may be united in your love, celebrating your differences, and growing together as the Spirit leads. I pray that your hope in God's ability to make the world whole would guide your faith so that you may rest secure when storms of life rage, because, oh do they rage.

God’s Character

To believe in God is no easy thing. We must trust in faith that there is a Creator whom we cannot see or hear or touch and yet whose presence we can intimately feel. When life is difficult, and it will be difficult, may you fall back on who you know God to be. You can understand who God is through Scripture and God's active Spirit in the world today. God is not contained to a book. We can see God’s presence all around us if we train our eyes to see. Through scripture, we see that God contains multitudes. God is Father and Mother; protector and warrior; good and dangerous. We believe that God is Good and yet we also know that God's goodness is complicated. Our Holy Scripture gives us many reasons to be uncomfortable with God’s actions. We cannot simply ignore the stories of God’s vengeance, favoritism, and anger. No, we must take those stories seriously and in doing so, we must choose the path of our ancestor Jacob—to wrestle with God until we receive a blessing. When faced with discomfort, the answer is not to walk away, but to wrestle until we find meaning and truth in who God reveals Godself to be. It is a brave and vulnerable thing to choose faith over indifference.

Perfection

I once thought that I had to be perfect to be good. I heard Christ on the Mount say, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," and I knew that I would never, ever measure up. I knew deep in my bones that I would always fail at being perfect, and so I believed I would always be letting God down. Jesus told me to be perfect, didn’t he? How will I ever be enough? But what I know now is that the truth of the gospel cannot be reduced to one verse, one line, one commandment. It must be understood in light of all that God is and all that scripture teaches. And what we know that God is making all things right. God is the one who is at work. As followers and disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are being made holy. Each step in life takes us closer to eternity. The hope is that we will continue the slow process throughout our lives of becoming more and more like Jesus. We have been saved by Christ, a gift that we did not deserve or earn, and now we are being molded and shaped into Christ’s image on this earth. For as Teresa of Avila says, “Christ has no hands on earth but yours.”

As your priest, I have seen your hands. I have seen the destruction your hands can cause when you allow your hands to wander. I have also seen the beautiful building up of the kingdom your hands can do when they stay focused on the truth of our and our neighbors’ beloved-ness. I hope you will join hands to continue building up the kingdom of God here in Franklin. As the incarnational Body of Christ here and now, I hope you will forgive my imperfections, the hurts that I have dealt by my hands. I also recognize my forgiveness of you, for all the hurts and disappointments I, and my family, have suffered from you.

Tell the Truth

Therefore, we must tell the truth about both the beautiful and the ugly parts of life. For life on this side of eternity holds both joy and pain, and not all people experience them in equal measure. I want to tell the truth about what I have seen during my time at St. John’s, because I believe that the truth will set you free. And you deserve freedom. This community has become separated, fractured and bitter, about different ways of living into caring for our neighbors. Parts of this community have engaged in hurtful gossip, seeking after power, and toxic relationship patterns which are hidden under the guise of ‘maintaining the church.’ Without acknowledging these problems and the deep hurts which are the source of these problems, this local church will fall apart.

There are some of you that believe that conflict must be avoided at all costs. I understand why you believe this—you have seen unhealthy conflict tear your community apart. And so, you have overcorrected—you see unhealthy behavior like bullying, gossip, and arrogance, and instead of calling people out with love and accountability in the form of consequences, you try to cover it up. You tell yourself, "I must be the only one who feels uncomfortable. It's probably for the best that we don't call this what it is."

But let me tell you— where there are people, there will always be conflict. The hallmark of a healthy community is not the presence of conflict but how they deal with it. I have seen too many in this community choose to run away from conflict. This allows the unhealthy patterns to continue. But instead of resolving the conflict, that forces more and more people to bear the burden of disunity and pain. Leaving conflict unresolved is not compassionate; it is cowardly. So I urge you— tell the truth, even when it hard. Talk to, not about, the person who hurt you. Stand resolutely for accountability and consequences for those that inflict pain on others. Resolve your conflicts so that this church may truly be a safe and welcoming space for all those who want to enter it.

Believe It Into Being

Finally, you must believe that you are a good church whose future is full of health, growth, and love. This belief might be the most important part of all. In believing in the power of God to work in unhealthy situations, God will create something good and new. So believe that this church can be exactly who you hope it to be. Believe that it is a church that can handle the conflicts that arise. Believe that this is a church where everyone is welcomed and loved. Believe that this is a church that has something to offer the world. Believe that God is with you. Believe that you are good.

To Grow is Good

My prayer is that St. John’s would grow in health and wholeness. My hope is that you would see growth as more than just rising numbers. I want this church to be healthy, to be a place of joy and rest. You have work to do, but you already have everything you need to grow. Remember that you were created after plants and fish and birds and trees. Humans are not as complicated as you think. You need water, and good food, sunshine, and the occasional pruning. Sometimes you will need to cut off limbs that are holding you back from growing. Other times, you will need to allow yourself the winter season to lie fallow without producing anything. When in doubt, take your cues from this Earth, for it also was created good.

Remember that you were created to grow. The goal of life—yours and the church’s—is not to arrive at a destination but to continue growing and learning as long as you are alive. If you choose to stop growing, you will watch the world pass you by. You will watch as your community and your church change without you. So may you open up your hearts with love and joy to say, “I wonder what God will do next.” For God is present in our midst and ready to move us, if only we are willing.

Closing

My friends, do not stop praying for and with one another. Pray even if you do not know how. Pray for your friends and your neighbors. Pray for your leaders and your clergy, who need your encouragement and support perhaps more than you know. And pray for me that I may continue to serve God wherever I am called. Pray that I proclaim the gospel with truth, boldness, and love to all that I encounter.

People of St. John’s you were made in God’s image and called God’s beloved. I write you this letter so that you will know the challenges ahead and the love that surrounds and compels you forward.

In all that you say and do, may you bring glory to our God in Heaven. Peace be to the whole community, filled with love and faith from our Lord Jesus Christ, and grace be with all. Amen.

(modeled after the final sermon given by Laura Nile Tuell, formerly of Southminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton, OH, June 2021)

 

Closing Remarks

I thank you all. I thank you for letting me serve you here at St. John’s and in the Franklin community. It has been my honor to serve this area and to be present with you through the changes and chances of our life together. I appreciate the work you do amongst yourselves to care for each other and the community around you. I hope that you will continue steadily in this way. Since we, my husband and I, are connected to St. John’s and Franklin now only in a familial way, I look forward to hearing about how you survive, thrive and live into the next phase of your communal life. (And I pray someone will send me some pictures of what you do to celebrate St. John’s Bicentennial in a few years.) 

As my parting gift to you all, I have arranged for a book and a knitted cross to be available in the Parish Hall. I will miss you, this community, and this gorgeous Church.