Last night my friend and neighbor, and not to mention member of St. Bart's, Aaron Schmidt brought me a piece of art he had painted. In this time of transition, I took great comfort in it, and I wanted to share it with you as well.
”Christ will be build his church." As I have thought about the future of St. Bart's, this phrase has been at the forefront of my mind. I have meditated on it as a reminder to myself that St. Bart's is Christ's church. We are his body, and Christ cares and loves for us as his bride. He is the one who builds us up. He is also the one who graciously invites us to join him in the work of building up his church.
"Christ will be build his church." In the last week or so, some of you have repeated this very phrase to me, not knowing that I had been meditating on it myself. And I have taken that as a great encouragement of the solid foundation we have at St. Bart's. Even with everything that has changed and is changing, so many of you are actively encouraging me and others, and I am so grateful to all of you who have offered your help in this time of transition.
As I said in my remarks this past Sunday night, I have felt the support from the body in a profound way, as well as from our Bishop, Philip Jones, and especially from our Vestry, who have been working tirelessly in this time of Jay's transition. (As we said on Sunday night, if you have questions for me or for the vestry, do not hesitate to reach out.)
I've taken all this and more as great encouragement that Christ has, Christ is, and Christ will build his church. But as we look to the future, we must also take time to remember where we have come from and how far we have gone under Jay's leadership. We have much to celebrate and to remember, and we are setting aside a time to honor Jay and his family, as well as a time to pray for them and send them with blessing into the next phase of their life and ministry. (Please stay tuned for further details.)
Chris+