"Jesus said, 'I am the true vine, and God is the vinegrower. God removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit…"John 15:1-2

Clearly, in this passage from the Gospel of John, Christ is the vine, we are the branches and God is the vinedresser. The function of the branches is to bear fruit, to do ministry, to be the presence of God in the world. In Israel, the vines trailed along the ground and each fall the dead and weak were pruned back. In the spring new shoots would burst forth from the pruned vines and would bear heavy fruit. The branches of the vine twist and turn, curl over one another. They are impossible to separate, one cannot tell one from another as none are distinct or free standing. There is no hierarchy for all are rooted in the vine.

Those very early believers understood this metaphor. After Christ's resurrection and ascension, the disciples, both men and women, began to spread the story of Jesus. As we have been reading in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, they healed, exorcised and taught– all to the end of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their word, originally given just to the Jews, quickly expanded to include all people, particularly when it was rejected by the Jewish authorities. Small home churches were founded, financed largely by women. Paul, Barnabas and others traveled to the ends of the then known world, founding a religion that has survived, thrived and grown for over 2000 years.

Each of the early Christians had different gifts, thus doing ministry in his or her particular way. However, they always remained connected, even in the early dispute regarding the relationship of Jews and Gentiles. We read that all things were held in common, that widows and orphans were supported and, when there was drought or famine, those affected were supported by believers from other parts of the land.

Today, here at St. Margaret's, we, too, celebrate ministry. First, it is Mother's Day. As I have quoted from Steve Lane in the past: "You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't drive a Mazda in a GM town, and you certainly don't tell a church it shouldn't celebrate Mother's Day. Some causes are worth martyrdom, but purging Mother's Day from the Christian calendar isn't one of them." (Steve Lane, Shepherd's Diary) I would suggest that parenting is a critical ministry. How we rear our children will bear fruit in the years to come. We honor the mothers and fathers of this congregation who so faithfully execute this ministry.
In addition, this morning, we are honoring the ministries of nine persons, five of whom will be leaving us with four remaining to claim their rightful place in our community.

First, we say farewell to three of our choir soloists: Kari Sorenson, Tanner Knight and Kyle Hastings. They have extraordinary gifts, as witnessed in the review of the opera in which they performed recently, and we have been blessed to be recipients of their ministry. Music has become essential to the Christian community…and is a major draw for newcomers on a Sunday morning. We are blessed by a rich and varied musical ministry, one that, like all ministries, will continue, though Kari, Kyle and Tanner will be sorely missed.

Second, we welcome four new members: Peter Penne, Charlie Grizzle, Christy Roach and Monika Weber-Farr. Peter, Charlie and Christy were confirmed at the Cathedral yesterday. Monika, who was originally confirmed the Roman Catholic Church, was received into the Episcopal Church. It was an incredible service…fifty churches participated and over four hundred persons were confirmed, received or reaffirmed their Baptismal vows. We are delighted to have four new workers in the vineyard…the harvest is plentiful!

Third, we say farewell to Carol Jablonski who, as a student at VTS, has been our seminarian for the past two years. Carol has worked her way into the hearts of many. Prior to seminary she was a professor with a doctorate in communications. With her keen intellect and warm engaging nature she has been a gift to us. She leaves to accompany her husband to Durham, NC. She will be ordained Deacon on June 10 in southwest Florida.

Finally, we say good bye to Deirdre Eckian. Five or so years ago she was a parishioner here and left to seek a Masters of Divinity at Berkeley Seminary at Yale. Her intent was to serve in lay ministry but somewhere along the way God had other plans for her. She, too will be ordained a Deacon on June 10 here at the cathedral. I hope many of you will plan to attend. The great news is that she will be serving at Christ Church, Georgetown, so she will not be very far away. However, we will miss her presence with us at St. Margaret's.

Like the early church we are all connected to one another through Jesus Christ. Each of those leaving, our four new members and everyone in this congregation are indissolubly bound together. There is no hierarchy, no one performs a free-standing ministry – all are in this together. As we claim in our Baptismal Covenant, "We seek to serve all persons loving our neighbors as ourselves." People leave and people come, but the ministry continues. Sometimes we need to prune…adjust our ministries to the changing needs of the community. That, like the vine, only gives us new life and new fruits.

We are bound, not by vines, but by love…a love that casts out fear, that is radically inclusive, and shows forth God to the world. As the letter to John says: "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God's love is perfected in us." (I John 4:12) Therefore, we send off the five, knowing we are forever bound by the love that is in us, and we welcome the four, opening the circle of our community to their gifts and their presence. May God bless all of us and our ministries on this day and in the days to come.