For me there will always be a tension between being the talking/doing and listening/worshiping community of God. During this last Sunday morning I experienced how the two complement rather than compete with each other. May Breakfast showed how amazing we can be when the energy that lies pent-up within our St Martin's community, is released for service.
At May Breakfast I saw an intensity of participation from over 50 volunteers. We had children and teenage members all working hard alongside the core of hardened veterans. In addition to those loyal workers who always show up to work our social events I spied many new volunteers, some only very recent arrivals at St Martin's. From 7 am - 12pm we served, fed and coffeed some 350 + bodies. Alongside the pulse and buzz of energy in the Great Hall we still managed to spiritually feed a combined total of 170 worshipers in the Church. What an amazing community we are!
This is the first year that Gail Peet, for 30 years and more, the energy behind the May Breakfast had to content herself with channeling her indefatigable energies through Chris Izzo, this year's new chief organizer. I recognize that it's not a small feat to channel Gail and live to tell the tale. Chris was undoubtedly well supported by Elke Moonan, shopper and kitchen manager extraordinaire together with oh so many other cooks, servers and clearers, dishwashers and welcomers! The list of names could go on and I wish there was room to mention everyone individually.
St Martin's depends on the hard work of a generation of members schooled in the importance of building and serving the community. The fear many of us have is that as we see this generation age we wonder if there will be younger folk to take up the Mantle. This year's May Breakfast encouraged me to hope. With Chris as a new organizer, supported by experienced hands and yet assisted by so many of our young people - in some cases whole families working together, and by some new arrivals, we all could see generational transitions in action. We live increasingly in a world where while we are hungry for community, many of us feel way too stretched and stressed to be able to devote much energy to building community, and so our hunger continues unsatisfied. At St Martin's we are committed to bucking this trend, and not just at May Breakfast.
This Sunday is Mothers Day. For the history of this celebration click here. Mothers Day is about gratitude for our biological and adoptive mothers. Yet, more significantly for Christians Mothers Day is an honoring of the quality of mothering; a quality present in those who have never born children and inherent in many who are not even female. Mothering is a quality that speaks of the divine in us. In Jesus we see that mothering is a core attribute of God.
Here's the link to last Sunday's sermon. See you in Church this Mother's Day Sunday.
Mark+
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