1 Peter 5: 6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he (the Lord) may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on God, because the Almighty cares for you.”

Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

Gene Batiste and I had the opportunity to represent St. Margaret’s at the Diocesan Convention this past January. For anyone who might be concerned, or even anxious, about the state of the Episcopal Church today, it was a most hopeful event – and challenging as well. I thought I might start by mentioning a few things I took away with me, because I think they are relevant for us as we contemplate the state of our own church and its call in this community and in the world.

The sermon at the Convention Eucharist on Friday evening was given by The Rev. Dr. Ian Douglas, Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School. The crisis we are facing in the Anglican communion, he said, may not be one that centers on human sexuality and issues of authority and identity so much as a “crisis of conversion.” In this world of mind-blowing change and globalization, we are being called to a “profound altering and amendment of life.” We are called to discern what God is up to in this world and to reorient our lives to be in line with the mission of God. The Anglican Church is a multicultural family of churches – very reflective of the world we live in – and our church is being transformed from a white, English-speaking church of the West to one that is very multicultural, and groups that have historically been silent have begun to find their voice at the table. We may, he said, be in the midst of a new Pentecost – bringing together peoples from all tongues and nations and points of view, and we can either become alienated from each other, or converted anew to God’s mission in the world and find our unity in the possibility “that we all may be one.” He spoke of our need to be in a position of “unknowingness” and of being knocked off our “high horses” (perhaps humbled under God’s mighty hand?).

The following morning Bishop Chane continued in something of the same vein, painting a picture of our diocese, where the fastest growing congregation is an Nigerian Ibo congregation, where 4 new Spanish-speaking congregations have been nested in English-speaking ones since 2002, where there are 6 operational Spanish-speaking congregations, serving 4-500 Spanish speakers on any Sunday, and where a Korean congregation will soon be nested in another English-speaking one. On Capitol Hill, an African American and a white congregation have merged to form the new church of St. Monica and St. James – a sign, he said, that closings can be a source of new life! The first new parish in 40 years has been built and one congregation is worshipping with St. Matthew’s Lutheran. We have tremendous racial and cultural diversity in our diocese, including the largest number of historic black churches in the country and one of the largest numbers of ordained persons of color. He went on to speak of schools, of youth, of university ministries, and of growth despite challenging economic times! Sounds like an exciting place to be – and exciting times in which to live. Both Ian Douglas and Bishop Chane challenged us not to think too parochially, not to get caught up in the issues that divide and turn us inward, but to listen, and seek to prayerfully discern where that promised Holy Spirit is blowing today and how we as a church can be powerful witnesses in the world.

Dick and I came to St. Margaret’s over 8 years ago drawn by the fact that it was more reflective of the diversity of God’s world than many Episcopal churches; also by its spirituality and its social outreach. We were struck by the welcome we received, by the lack of pretension, by the deep engagement of so many in Sunday School, Charlie’s Place, Rummage and Book sales, Honduras, On the Way Bible Study, Contemplative Prayer and, more recently, the Labrynth walk, the Forums, and so on. St. Margaret’s is a small church, but a vibrant one.

Evidence of the vibrancy of this church may be seen:

· In the stewardship campaign, which surpassed its goal of $450,0000;

· The growing numbers in Sunday School – the bumper crop of teens that will be in the Journey to Adulthood program this fall;

· The baptisms, confirmations, and reaffirmations;

· The ministry that takes communion each Sunday to shut-ins ,and the informal ministry that provides rides to church for those who need them.

Sometimes there are too few people doing too much, but usually when a need is made known, people step forward – or at least respond to an invitation!

You all know by now that we have older buildings, which are in fact a treasure, but which need some major repairs that call on funds beyond our operating budget. Having dipped into our capitol fund in a major way last summer, we do not want to do so again this year and are seeking a loan from the diocese. But going forward we will need a good building committee, additional major gifts to our capital fund through bequests and planned giving, and some imaginative fundraising – such as campaigns for particular needs, or perhaps securing grants for historical building preservation. We had some good ideas expressed a couple of Sundays ago at the Vestry candidates’ forum.

We also need to grow our congregation – not just to have more people to support and preserve these buildings which we love – but because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses in our community and indeed to the ends of the earth. Thinking of ourselves as a 21^st century church, who are the people in DC we are called to witness to? Those from other countries? Those from other races and ethnicities? Those who live in this immediate neighborhood? Those engaged in the government at all levels? Where do we need to be converted from our comfortable, known ways of thinking and doing things in order to shine Christ’s light more widely? If we put ourselves, humbly, in that place of “unknowing” and ask for God’s direction, I believe it will be given.

We already have many opportunities to witness. Charlie’s Place – both the clients and those who come to serve; the rummage and book sales, the Cabarets come to mind. Do we all feel responsible to invite others to come? And what do we offer when they do come? Do we have enough appealing information about St. Margaret’s which we can put in someone’s hand? At the book sale, I saw Gay Lord engage someone who expressed an interest in the church building in a lively conversation, which ended with a warm invitation to try us out (she was a non-churchgoer). That lady may well come, but Gay would love to have had something to give her! A lot of work has gone into the web site and it shows it. That’s another great tool for reaching out and witnessing, but it will never be able to do what those of us on two legs can do.

We witness by our care for one another – both those who are easy to care for and those who may not be. We witness by our attention to and inclusion of the young people in our midst, who, as someone said at the candidates’ forum ARE the church. And we are called, I believe, to think of the places where reconciliation is still needed in our community, country and world and to ask “What part are we called to play?” For example, does St. Margaret’s have a calling with respect to the race issue, which Obama addressed so eloquently in his Philadelphia speech and which our Episcopal Church is trying to address – both in terms of our history and the present; or with the immigrant issue – very alive in the greater metropolitan area; or with the divisions within our own Episcopal church and Anglican communion; or the divide between Islam and the West?

St. Margaret’s has a big head start in growing towards the new vision of the 21^st century church. And we are blessed to be remarkably free from the cliques and in-fighting that can rob a church of its power. But we don’t have room to be smug either. There are huge needs all around us. So we can humble ourselves and be in that place of “unknowing” – questing for discernment about how to best fulfill our particular calling at this time and in this place – but without anxiety, because we have the certainty that the Almighty cares for each of us and for St. Margaret’s – and with the certain knowledge that, if we are open and willing, we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill that mission and that the resources will be given.