My roots in the United Church of Canada are fairly shallow ... my Home Congregation of Centennial United became a United Church in 1968, and brought into the United Church many of us who are still proud to say we are Evangelical United Brethren (a German Methodist Church) of Canada.
It was a Centennial that I was Baptised, that I went to Sunday School, that I went to Youth Group and at the age of 14 walked away because someone told me that EVERYTHING that happens in life happens because God loves us soooooo much ... "Great," I replied, "God loved me so much he caused the death of my father ..." The ensuing answer drove me out the door for a number of years ...
I wandered ... I searched, then one day I came home and began to pepper our then Minister Rev. Ross Cumming with questions ... I still stayed away, but Ross helped me face the answers to some of my questions and he helped me formulate some of the questions I wasn't even sure about ... Because of him I grew - I matured - and I eventually came back to Centennial ...
In the late 1980's, I began moving through the process of candidacy within the United Church of Canada, and on June 6th 1993, in Windsor Ontario, I was Ordained to the Ministry of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care in the United Church of Canada. Through it all - through my foolish childhood adventures, through my struggles as a youth, right through to the celebration of my Ordination - the folks at Centennial have been there for me in ways they may not even realize.
In recent years, we've grown apart and my contact with them has been at best sporadic, and as I've noted elsewhere I was only asked to preach once since my ordination (Thanks to Rev. Nancy for being SO gracious) ... but Centennial remains my Home Congregation.
A few weeks ago it was announced they would be closing their doors and selling off their building and I wept at the news. On one level it didn't surprise me, but one a deeper level it was the closing of a chapter. Centennial has been my home and my sanctuary - it is the place then when I close my eyes I am a 13 year old boy sitting in the back corner with his buddies, doing what it is that we did regularly ... (and God bless the people of Centennial for their patience, humour and love to let us do it over and over, without losing their temper.)
Yesterday though, I stood before the people who watched me grow and who helped me attain the dream ... Yesterday I was NOT a 13 year old boy messing around in the corner ... Yesterday I was the 38 year old Ordained Minister THEY knew I would one day become - and it was their support, their prayers, their love, and their encouragement that helped make it happen ...
Yesterday I said a small thanks to them by standing before them and offering my reflections on the journey we the people who call Centennial United Church in Stratford Ontario have ahead of us ...
And now - I want to share my musings with the rest of you ...
MY sermon (such as it is):
I recently encountered a quotation that caused me to pause and while reflecting on it say – “Huh?” then with further reflection I said simply – “YES!!!!”
The quotation is simply this: “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time …”
Today as a community of faith you are all moving to a place where you will lose sight of the shore. For over a Century, this place – this building has been the shore to those of us who have called it home … And too soon we will lose sight of it – but like the intrepid explorers who some centuries ago set sail into the unknown and discovered the new world that we now call home – you – both together and as individuals, as setting said into the unknown.
But for you – it is a voyage of discipleship … it is on many levels an echoing of our Gospel Reading from Mark, where Jesus is desperately trying to get his disciples, (and us) to fully understands what our call to faith is really all about …
I have to admit that I struggled with what I would and could say this morning … I’m proud that my roots run so deeply here. I’m proud to call this place – and you “my home church.” Even after almost 14 years of ministry, this is still HOME. The lessons you taught me, the bruises you helped soothe, the words of wisdom you’ve imparted to me, and the unconditional love and encouragement that you’ve poured out on me as I grew up here and moved towards Ordained ministry in this United Church of ours has left an indelible mark upon my soul. In many ways, I wanted to preach on – or more accurately – call upon the many friendly ghosts who inhabit this place for me … I could spend hours (and there are times when I do) telling the stories of growing up here and sharing my memories of this place.
But I remember Bob Gibson telling me once that some of the best sermons come when a few simple words in the text catch your attention and the Spirit says simply – “this is it …”
For me this morning, it is verse 28 in our reading from the Gospel of Mark that is just such a snippet – in the text Peter says to Jesus – “LOOK, we have left everything behind and followed you !!!”
We have left everything behind and followed you …
On February 12th 2006 at 5:58 am, the phone in our home in Minnedosa rang … when the call rings in the middle of the night in our home it is seldom good news – and that night was no exception … But that night, I had had a rough night – My sermon wasn’t prepared and I wasn’t ready for the Baptism Service that day – NOW, to be clear – my sermon not being prepared isn’t a big deal – I often do my sermons in the morning before the service, but this day I hadn’t slept well, and I felt through out the night that something ominous was about to happen …
At 5:58am, something ominous came to pass … the phone rang and I heard the voice of our local newspaper editor saying – “Shawn. It’s Bob. You’re church is on fire … you better get down here …”
I stepped out the door of my house and saw the an enormous plum of thick smoke rising over the downtown of Minnedosa …
I stepped out into the cold and prayed … I prayed that it was just a little fire in the corner somewhere …
I prayed that it was almost out …
I prayed that he was kidding …
I arrived at 6:05am, and by then the Main Floor was engulfed. By 7am the roof of the building was breached. By 8am the steeple crashed through the floor to the basement … and by 10 am only the remnants of the scorched brick walls were left standing …
For 105 years the Sanctuary of Minnedosa United Church had stood on the corner of Main St in Minnedosa and in less then 5 hours it was reduced to nothing more than a smouldering ruin … and all of us were left only with memories …
It was not by our choice – but on the morning of February 12th 2006 we were forced to leave everything behind and follow … The problem was – we simply were NOT prepared – we simply didn’t know where the path was going to lead …
That day we gathered over coffee and tea and we wept. Then in the basement of the Catholic Church, we later broke bread and shared the cup and set out faces to the future.
We replaced what we could, we salvaged what we could and we took stock of our losses and started taking tentative steps one simple step at a time …
One of the things I personally relied upon in that moment as the journey began was the stuff that I carry in my memory basket … When I was given this basket, I was told that it may look empty, but that it was really full - full of love and care and all the memories and moments that I’ve shared with the people who played a part in guiding me to Ordination. The basket came from the people of Odessa and Elginburg just outside of Kingston where I served as a student. But the stuff in the basket came from many places not least of which was good old Centennial United Church …
I dug deeply and repeatedly through this basket, relying on the lessons and learnings and I have accumulated since my days downstairs in Sunday School. You taught me well – the friendly ghosts were speaking to me words of wisdom and inspiration. I found that in those days, such as February 13th when I stood in the basement full of debris and wept over what we had lost that if I closed my eyes in a moment I was sitting back in the corner pew (over there) and once again I found my place of sanctuary and peace … when I needed it I could come back here and find my sanctuary …
In 1993, when I left her for my Ordination and my settlement charge in Bella Coola I left much behind. BUT – I carried much with me.
In the 14 years of ministry since that day – I have held hands with the dying, I have sat with a family waiting for news about a fisherman missing at sea, I have mourned over murders and suicides, I have bid farewell to infants and 100 year old saints, I have been fired and abused, I have been rejected and welcomed, I have shaken the dust from my shoes and tended to my bruises, I have been battered and almost broken, I have seen the best and the worst in the church, I have watched a building be closed, a building be reactivated, and a building demolished, I’ve celebrated new beginnings and overdue endings, and I’ve watched a dear friend reduced to nothing more then ashes and debris …
I’ve laughed and cried … I’ve danced and sung … I’ve raged and prayed in silence … I’ve seen much … and through it all I am proud to tell people that much of who I am and much of what I do is because of the folks back at Centennial United Church in Stratford Ontario – because of you.
Too soon, you will hold one last Service and you will turn off the lights and you will cease to be Centennial United Church.
But your story – OUR story, won’t end there.
We are not Job doubting God’s very existence and presence.
We are a pilgrim people. We are DISCIPLES of God.
Our calling is to boldly and courageously head into the unknown. To set our faces to the journey and be willing to lose sight of the shore – the comfortable shore … For it is when we lose sight of the shore that is behind us that as one of our hymns so eloquently proclaims: “God will be there with just ONE more surprise !!”
It is when we lose sight of the shore that is behind us that we discover ahead of us a new shore – a new land – a place of new possibilities.
The Gospel – The Good News – Our faith – calls us forward.
Where will we go? None of us know for certain. But we know that no matter where we go, God will be with us …
What will our future look like? None of us know for certain – But we all celebrate that God is with us …
There is a Jewish story of a man – a successful business man, a proud and arrogant man who searched out a humble baker who was greatly renowned for his wisdom. The business man traveled a long way to find the baker and was unimpressed by what he found …
“Jacob,” the business man said looking down his nose at the baker, and being extra careful not to get flour on his expensive suit, “I want my life to leave an impression on others. I want my life to make a difference to other people …”
“Every life is an impression,” answered Jacob still tending his dough.
“What do you mean?” asked the man.
Jacob didn’t look up when he answered, he kept kneading his dough as he spoke “Every life is an impression, because WE ARE GOD’S FINGER PRINTS.”
WE – you – me – all of us together are God’s finger prints.
No matter what the future holds – WE are God’s finger prints.
Even as we lose sight of the shore – WE are God’s finger prints.
As disciples – as people of faith – as the Kingdom of God present and real within out world – WE are God’s fingerprints.
So the challenge we face is to set off into the unknown – to tell our stories – to share our memories – to shed our tears – to honour our past, and to say farewell to what once was – it will not be easy – it is never easy to lose a building you love – that much I know from the last few months … but our challenge is to gather up what we need for the journey ahead.
By necessity we WILL have to travel light. We WILL carry in us ALL that we need – carry your memories, you care, your kindness, and your love. Speaking as one who as journeyed from this place and in some ways has left it behind – those things (these things) those memories, caring, kindness, and love – have served me well … I have, and I will continue to live the promise of blessings that comes from our faith. A faith and a journey that began here … in this place among you …
Never lose the memory of who WE are, even when we lose sight of the shore. For in that moment as the shore behind us slips from view – God is truly with us …
Journey in Peace knowing that this place – this people – you and I – are God’s fingerprints … And THAT simple fact will never change …
God is with us … May it be so … Thanks be to God …
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