Last week, I asked you to consider the mission of our church. Too often, at the denominational level, as well as the local level, we place a disproportionate emphasis on the resources which assist us in doing mission, namely, members and money, overlooking the vast opportunities to do mission, freely. There is little cost in inviting a neighbor to worship; taking an interest in the children of the church; or, even appreciating the witness of our building. Are we making the most of such opportunities in our lives?
In Princeton, we had a saintly woman well into her eighties, Isabelle Stouffer. Every Monday, Isabelle would attend to the sanctuary. Were the pencils sharpened? Were the pew pads in order? Were the hymnals in their places? Were all the old bulletins disposed of? No one had asked Isabelle to do this. Years ago, out of her love for God and her appreciation of the beauty of our sanctuary, Isabelle felt called to take on this ministry. It was her mission. We have a good number of such folk in our own congregation.
In our life together, opportunities for mission abound and we are blessed with many good people who are able, and willing, to serve. Weekly, if not daily, we have someone doing something around the church, because of their love for God and their desire to serve their neighbors. Sometimes it's helping in the garden; mowing the grass; maintaining our facilities; bringing food or helping in the kitchen. Sometimes its supporting our many programmatic ministries - singing in the choir; teaching VBS, Sunday School or Wednesday Night Live; visiting at home members, preparing for communion or sending cards.
Opportunities to serve abound in our congregation and we are blessed that we have so many willing and able to serve. We saw this to be especially true with our ice cream social on Sunday. We had wonderful volunteer support; an abundance of pies and cakes; a great crowd; and, a wonderful time thanks to the hard work of many. The people of Faith United were at their best on Sunday afternoon.
The question I want to raise, as we consider the mission of our congregation, as well as the individual opportunities for mission to which each of us are called, is this: Is mission only the work we do for the church?
Many of our members are invested in our community in countless ways. Apart from the many professions and vocations represented in our life together, we have people who volunteer with almost every service club; community agency; and, civic organization in town. Not to mention, the college, the library, Buchanan Art Center, the Warren County museum and the hospital.
Do we see our participation in these groups as an opportunity for mission? Do they not form part of our mission field? There is no place to list such work on the annual report to presbytery, but is this not an excellent measure of the health and vitality of our congregation? That we have so many willing to serve, not only the church, but our community, as well?
The question is: Though the ladies in the auxiliary; your colleagues in Rotary; or, your friends at the country club may not take kindly to proselytizing, are there ways to do intentional ministry in those places? Are we not called to bear witness to Jesus Christ in every part of our life? How does our faith influence who we are in those other facets of our lives?
Presbyterians believe the division between sacred and secular in our culture is contrived. There is no way to compartmentalize life and faith. We believe that all of life belongs to God. Therefore all of life is holy. All of life is our mission field.
People of faith, as you think about your call to ministry, may God bless us with a vision of mission that encompasses, not only our life together, but every facet of our lives, as well
