This is a day of great joy for St. Andrew’s. We welcome a new Senior Warden and we commission the Search Committee for the next Rector for this parish. New beginnings- filled with excitement and anticipation and perhaps a little bit of anxiety. We read earlier about the call of Samuel to move into the next phase of his ministry to the Lord. Up to this point, Samuel had been ministering under Eli. The voice of God had not been heard for a long time. And then, in the middle of the night, Samuel hears a call: “Samuel, Samuel.”
And, not recognizing God’s voice, Samuel runs to his mentor, Eli. “Eli, what do you need?” Eli, puzzled I’m sure, says to Samuel: “I did not call you. Go back to sleep.” And this happens a second time – and then a third. Like Moses, Ezekiel and Isaiah, we don’t often hear God when called the first time. We’re often asleep- literally or figuratively. But the third time, Eli realizes it must be God calling Samuel. Eli instructs Samuel how to respond to God’s call: “Here I am, Lord.” Famous words – the response each of us should give when God calls. And what God, and then Eli, asks of Samuel is a hard thing sometimes: to tell the truth even though it may be hard to hear. Eli hears that God will punish Eli and his house because Eli did not act when he knew his sons were profaning God’s temple. Perhaps the first test of Samuel: Listen. Tell the truth even when it is hard to hear. Tell the truth with love and compassion.
“To be called by God is an act of spiritual intimacy” according to Joseph Price.[1] To be called by God “means that God knows one’s name and in knowing one’s name, exercises a powerful influence on the person. To be called by God also indicates a need for immediate response because the Almighty has indeed summoned one to a specific vocation or course of action.” Who are the ministers of the church today? Our catechism says that the ministers of the church are first the laity and only then priests, deacons and bishops. So it is right that you have selected from among yourselves a group to work on your behalf to search out and then for the Vestry, the elected leadership of the parish, to call the next rector for St. Andrew’s. Today we celebrate the five lay persons that have heard God’s call. We are raising up leaders – yes, people who have served this parish in leadership roles in the past but who now have accepted new positions of leadership and who have said “yes” to God.
Those of you nominated by the parish, and those of you who accepted that nomination, have heard the call of God and of your peers to step into a new ministry and into new leadership roles. The work you are about to undertake is extremely important to the future of this parish. You are working, not solely on your own behalf, not solely because you represent one of the diverse segments of this parish, but in response to God’s call to discern the needs of this parish going forward and then to search out a priest who can lead the parish as the next rector. You are deliberately a diverse group. Younger – older. Female-male. Long-time member and newer member. Ones with children grown and ones with children at home. Town or gown. Our hope is that this diversity will enrich the work you are to do on behalf of this parish. Listen carefully to the opinions of others. There is wisdom in each of you- more than you perhaps know.
To those on the Search Committee, one of your tasks will be to envision the future of St. Andrew’s. To discern the traits and qualities needed in the next rector. You are not a head hunter in the typical business sense because you are not seeking a CEO but rather a spiritual leader. The tasks to be performed and the qualities needed have some similarities to those sought in a business but they also go far beyond a traditional business model. The person you will be seeking must be a spiritual leader and a pastor to the parish, not simply one who can read a financial statement and who focuses on the bottom line (although these can be part of the package). To do your job as a member of the Search Committee will require time, patience and prayer.
For those not on the Search Committee, you are also being called by God. Be present at events designed to assist the Search Committee. Be willing to share your stories, your hopes and your dreams. Have the courage to speak the truth with love about what draws you to St. Andrew’s and what keeps you here. Have the courage to speak the truth with love to share also what frustrates you about St. Andrew’s. How has this church and its mission changed over time and how does that impact you? Where has the church let you down? Both pros and cons are important to ensure that when the Parish Profile is completed it is an honest account both of the strengths and the growing edges. This will take time, patience and prayer.
Like Samuel’s life after he answered that call in the night, our lives will most likely have ups and downs during the time period the Search Committee works. There will most likely be disagreements and disappointments. There will be times we are called to speak the truth with love- with care and compassion for the one to whom we are speaking when we know our thoughts, our wishes, our hopes for this parish are different. That doesn’t make them wrong. In fact, our differing dreams for this parish work to make it stronger and more representative of the body of Christ. Legs and arms and eyes and ears are not the same – but they are each a necessary part of the whole.
During the time of first exploration to the time of ordination, a candidate is likely to hear the phrase: “trust the process” more than once. This, too, is a time where you may hear the phrase: “trust the process.” It works although we may not see exactly how until after the new rector is called. The Search Committee will be keeping us apprised of their work in general, although not in specifics. It is important to honor the need for confidentiality, especially when the Search Committee moves into the period when they evaluate and interview potential candidates and then recommend one candidate to the Vestry.
Whether on the Search Committee or not, prayer is necessary to our work together. Whether the time from today until the new rector is called is long or short, prayer is necessary for each of us in our varying roles and responsibilities as well as for those who are interviewed and then the one who is selected. None of us knows, at this point, whether the Search Process will be long or short. We can trust, however, that God is walking with us. That God requires of us that we love our neighbors – those sitting next to us in the pew or those who are unable to join us in the pew- who have differing hopes and dreams for this parish. Trust the process. It works.
[1] Joseph Price in Feasting on the Word, Year B, volume 1. Barbara Brown Taylor and David Bartlett, eds. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 244.