From our First Lesson from Ezekiel, "The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the middle of a valley-he led me all around."  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

          It is a joy for me to be with you again for an official visitation and a confirmation service.From the first time I came here, I have loved this beautiful congregation of St. Luke's, your music, hospitality, food - your stability and calmness. God willing, I don't have to worry as I look down to Jamestown on the map!

My visitation has three purposes:  First to say thank you to your Interim Rector, Mother Liz, for accepting this call to Jamestown, for her fresh ideas and spirituality throughout this time of transition.  Thank you to your DeaconCathy, who has been a tremendous asset to this congregation, also in this time of transition.  I also want to thank your Wardens, Vestry and  Search Committee for your splendid process which has led to your calling Luke Fodor as your new Rector - a Luke for St. Luke's - how appropriate!

Second:  a visitation is also an occasion to welcome new people - today, Gael Grossman and Riley Olmstead through the Sacrament of Confirmation, and Alice Paulus and Joseph Rickards through Reaffirmation.  All four of them symbolize new life in the midst of a time of transition.

The third purpose of my visitation is to share with you my hopes and vision.

I am filled with hope for our diocese - last year we were one of only 31 dioceses in the Episcopal Church to grow in membership; the only diocese in the eight dioceses of New York and New Jersey to grow. But you face the same challenge that every one of our 58 parishes share - how will we pass our precious parishes on to the next generation-to your children and grandchildren?

I applaud that your vestry wants as its goal to make St. Luke's the first choice of those seeking a church home, to increase your membership.  But like all our parishes you have to look at change.

You know what outsiders say about the Episcopal Church and change: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?  Two - one to make the martinis and one to call the electrician. How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?  Five - one to change the bulb and four to talk about how good the old one was.  How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?  Change, change!  What do you mean change? My grandmother gave that light bulb.

But to be honest, St. Luke's must look at change after the years with your beloved Rector Eric and Mother Susan.  St. Luke's has become accustomed to one form of leadership - Mother Liz has done great work to give you a different style, but now you are about to have a new personality at your helm - your new Luke.

When change comes it can be difficult because your new rector, whom you will welcome, will also be adjusting with his family to a whole new place,  this precious congregation and to a new city. God asks you and your new leader to be patient and honest with one another as together you build a new pastoral relationship and chart a new course and future for St. Luke's.

You need to know that I support and encourage Father Luke and you all as you work through this challenging period of new relationships.  When I met with Luke, he asked me if you expect him to be another Eric?  I assured him that you want him to be who he is.  You are so good as a congregation at so many things; one is that you to keep gossip to a minimum.  One of my bishop colleagues told me he says to congregations, "You will never catch me repeating gossip, so listen up the first time!"  But my advice is - keep up your tradition of St. Luke's as a gossip-minimum zone.

The wonderful story we have just heard from Ezekiel about the journey into the valley of dry bones, actually inspires us with confidence because it reminds us that God is with us in our journey of faith, even in our choice of leadership when the journey that God is taking us comes as a surprise to us.

You may have heard me tell this story, but in case you haven't, here it is again.  A year after my election as your bishop I said to my wife, "Carmela, in your wildest dreams would you ever have believed that I would be called to be bishop of Western New York," and Carmela shot back, "Bill, don't kid yourself, what makes you think that you have ever been in my wildest dreams? 

This strange Ezekiel story says where we are going, where we find ourselves is not always what we have become accustomed to, but with faithfulness and trust in God's presence, with us right here and now, new life, renewed purpose, and prosperity can be the result of the journey on which God is taking us.

Our Gospel lesson from John seems to say that when something unexpected happens, when a brother dies suddenly, we often look for someone to blame for those events.  Martha says to Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." And then Jesus raises the brother from the dead.  This is an unexpected event, a good event, but challenging to Mary and Martha's expectations.  When events are unexpected, challenging to our expectations, we seek answers about these strange events. We seek answers when we feel that God has brought us into a strange land, like the valley of the dry bones, or beside a cave where someone has suddenly been called back from the dead.  What are we to do when we feel as an individual Christian leader or as a congregation that God has brought us into such a strange land? 

Mother Liz is about to depart for what, despite its lovely beauty and extraordinary spiritual promise, will inevitably feel like the strange land of Alaska.  What will Father Luke and his family feel like when they depart the teeming world of Long Island and enter the relative peace and lovely beauty of this corner of Western New York?   What will it be like for the Fodor's?  They will inevitably feel that they have journeyed into a strange land.    And what will you as a congregation feel like as you enter yet another period of adjusting to a new leader?  That you are in a strange land?

I returned a week ago from our House of Bishops meeting in Texas where we had a series of five meditations.  One was by Bishop Mary Glasspool of Los Angeles entitled, "When the strange land is where you live."

Having spent 56 of her 60 years on the East Coast, Bishop Mary found herself suddenly as a Bishop in LA-or SoCal as they call it.  This was Mary's advice to the bishops and I believe also to St. Luke's Jamestown. "I think I've learned three basic things about singing the Lord's Song during the time I've been privileged to serve in the strange land we call SoCal. The first has to do with the importance of being yourself.  Who are we as a church? What are our core values?  How is it that God wants us to serve the world when the world is so very different than it was even 20 years ago?  How do we sing the Lord's song in the foreign land where we live now?

The second thing I've learned has to do with hospitality - the aspect of hospitality that allows space for the other, for other groups in the congregation who may not be my own group,  newcomers, perhaps new high school and college students who may need a church home - to allow young people the space to be fully who they are in church. Do I allow everyone the space to experience the opportunity of sharing, community, exchanging?

The third thing I have learned is the importance of practicing humility.  Humility begins with relationships with one another.  Humility says, "I would like to really learn about you-will you share yourself with me?" Bishop Mary says, "Practicing humility is essential if we are serious about reconciling the world to God through Jesus."

As the congregation of St. Luke's Jamestown, you are asking the same question Bishop Mary asked us Bishops gathered in Texas: "How do we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?  I suggest that if you find that the strange land is where you live, you might consider rediscovering yourself so that you can be all of whom you are.  Offer hospitality and create space for the other.  Practice humility and, above all, remember that it's the Lord's Song - so don't forget to sing it."

I love you.  God loves you.  God is with you as you take off on your new journey into a Strange Land.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.