This morning I spoke at both the 8:00 and 10:15 services at Hope Episcopal Church. The following is the text to what I said:
Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams, writes, “If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.”
That’s what these moments of faith are—they’re our stories of how God works in our lives and we must share them, we’re compelled to share them because the more we talk about God to each other, the more His presence in our lives is revealed.
I struggled with what I was going to say today, not because I couldn’t think of anything, but because it seemed impossible to compress, to shrink down a whole summer of faith into one moment.
Fortunately, I was inspired yesterday by a friend’s blog. My friend Charles wrote on the topic of renewal and included a quote from Ezekiel 36:26. It says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”
That quote, to me, sums up not just this summer, but my life since I first walked through those red doors and into Hope Episcopal Church this past Easter.
Many of you already know my story. I was a church hopper for 17 years. I had pretty much given up on finding a church. And then one day I was looking online and I found Hope Episcopal and you had a Narnia-themed library and, as someone who has read The Chronicles of Narnia again and again and again, I could not pass up the opportunity to see this library.
But while it was the Narnia-themed library that got me into this church, it was you—the people of Hope—who kept me here.
It was Mike and Robin who sat with me that Easter.
It was Lorraine who gave coffee to Jaci one Sunday knowing how much she needed it.
It was Arlene who was the first person to ask my name.
It was Craig and Judy who patiently explained to me centering prayer.
It was Diane who pulled me away from my seat one Sunday and forced me to meet new people.
It was my Alpha group, Jaci, Robin, Terri, Russell, Marty, Dan, Bob, Judy, Jennifer and Julia who shared their own moments of faith each Wednesday.
And of course it was Pastor Debbie who has been gracious in the giving of her time to just sit and talk and answer any of the thousands of questions I might have.
It has been all of you. God has given me a new heart and a new spirit through all of you.
And I could not be more thankful.
