From The Interim Rector
Kay and I used to ride the train from Milwaukee to Chicago, when I was in seminary. In the train station in Milwaukee, there were 3 clocks on the wall above the ticket agent…and each one had a different time on it… one had 9:15, the one right next to it would say 8:36, and the third one would show 12:45. I was puzzled at the difference, so I asked the lady at the ticket counter why each clock had a different time. She responded: “If they all had the same time, we wouldn’t need 3 clocks!”
Have you ever watched people as they come back from the communion rail at church? We are all so different. That is what makes the church such a special place. And each one of us have a special place here, and a special ministry in the body. If we were all the same, if we all had the same gifts, some of us wouldn’t be needed!
Once, the disciples were arguing over which of them is the greatest. Jesus tells them the greatest is the one who serves.
I read about a lady names Myrtie Howell who was 91 years old when she went into the nursing home. She felt she no longer had any purpose or meaning to her life. She prayed God would show her a new purpose, or either “take her home”. God chose the first option. He gave Myrtie a desire to start a pen-pal relationship with some women in prison. She wrote a kind letter to the warden at the Georgia Women’s Prison, and offered to correspond with any prisoner who needed a friend. She signed the letter: “Grandma Howell”. Little did she know what she was getting into. Over the next 8 years of her life, she ended up writing to hundreds of women in prison who had been abandoned by their families. One prisoner wrote: “I truly believed I was unlovable, until I found love from Grandma Howell.”
I met with the Care Team leaders this past week, and was amazed at all the love and care which these members of St. James have for each member of the church. From phone calls, to visits, to bring Holy Communion to members who cannot come to church, to taking meals when needed, and giving rides to those who need it… our Care Teams have a variety of gifts to offer. They will let me know who needs or wants a pastoral call or visit, and I will do my best to call and visit when I am in town on Saturday, Sunday or Mondays. You can also just call me or email me, and we can make a date to visit. I look forward to our visits.
Who is the greatest? What makes you special? The answer lies in how you serve… AMEN.
