ANNUAL ADDRESS FROM THE RECTOR
January 27, 2019
Which is more important to you: protecting or starting a legacy? Do
we hold on to the past at the expense of the future?
Reading over the history of St. Peter's I’ve been thinking about
the things to which we dearly hold; Historic churches get into a rut by
focusing all our attention on the preservation of
things, buildings, baptismal fonts, chalices and patens.
These things steal our attention when what we need to do is focus on
the future. Every congregation has multiple personalities…those
whose memory includes the golden era, better times when we saw children running
in the playground and lots of activity every day at the church. And
another set of people constantly looking for change; they are people who seem
to be willing to abandon the past for something unseen. And so, we
have conflict between 1) those who believe that if we maintain the status quo
we will be comfortable and 2) those who need variety or change. Which
is right?
To find the answers to this question we need to look back sixty
years. Sixty years ago, the old wooden clapboard church of St. Peter’s
sat on Vulcan Street in downtown Brenham. The building was older and
structurally unsound. The 290 bypass would be built around the
city and so it made good sense to move the church to 2310 Airline Drive.
But do you think everyone agreed? Oh no! I
can hear faithful people say, “St. Peter’s church has stood on Vulcan Street
for 90 years; We have to stay here.” Some of you may be worried that
I’m suggesting we move; I’m not suggesting that at all. What I want
to point out is the mentality that gets us in a rut. Are you so afraid of
losing what you have that you’re unwilling to risk for the unseen better future
for St. Peter’s?
If it hadn't been for the courageous legacy-makers of St. Peter's
past (Father Bird and his flock) we would still be on Vulcan Street in a
dilapidated clap board historic church building. Or a rebuilt one that looks
exactly like it. And it would have had that historic marker on the
corner telling of its once proud history.
I spoke with Arthur Al Geick the other day, and back in the day
Fr. Bird asked him to crawl up underneath that church building on Vulcan…Arthur
Al is an engineer and he went down there to assess the state of the brick
foundation piers. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled half way under
the church with dirt and spiders all around. Before he got to deep
in, he turned around came out and told Fr. Bird I’ve seen foundation and I’m
not going any farther, and I’m probably not going inside the church either.
Most of the folks felt and saw the need for change. Our
faithful legacy makers gave us the current location of St. Peter’s. We
aren’t honoring them by preserving their
legacy of our buildings and grounds. The way to honor their legacy
is to have the same mentality that they had. They were willing to sacrifice
what they had for the better future of St. Peter’s…that future is us.
So, we need to decide what our legacy is. Is our legacy
only to preserve theirs? Or are we called to set forth a legacy and think of
the next generation of Episcopal Christians who will be here for the 200th
Anniversary of St. Peter’s?
Do you want a future for St. Peter's and are you willing to
sacrifice personal needs for that future?
The future is out there in Brenham and Washington County.
It's in the children to which we care in our children and youth programs. The
future of St. Peter’s is not only our blood children and blood relationships. The
future are children adopted into the St. Peter’s family. The future
is the children of BTxLA—our music and arts program. The future is
in the children to whom we give food in our outreach ministries.
But here is the problem…we don’t invite them…and we don’t build
lasting relationships with them. We may service them food or give
them a taste of great music, but we aren’t inviting them to become part of us.
I’ve heard this statement for many years as a priest and it hasn’t
changed here in Brenham: “I’m sorry I wasn’t in church Sunday, I had out of
town guests.” You know what I do when I have out of town
guests…"I tell them to pack your church clothes; I’m going to church and
you can come with me." It’s the best church in Brenham. We
must love St. Peter’s so much that we can’t miss it. We must love
St. Peter’s so much that we don’t want others to miss it.
St. Peter’s is a great church. It is the church I would
choose if I were just moving into town, because you’re friendly, you’re
faithful, you are generous. Let’s become inviting as well. When
you see a new face invite them to coffee hour, when you see a new face invite
them to help with our arts ministry to children, when you see a new face invite
them to help in our food ministries,
When you see a new face invite them to worship with us.
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