Prayer and Work

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

August 10, 2025

Year C, Proper 14: The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Luke 12:32-40

Prayer and Work

For Kit

        So, partly because of Rev. Amelia’s arrival, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the first days of my ordained ministry. 

        Back when I was in seminary, whenever I imagined my future church, I saw a city church. After all, that’s where I was from, that’s what I knew, that’s where I was comfortable.

        It made sense.

        I was sure that this was what God had planned for me.

But when I graduated and was ordained there really weren’t any city churches available, so, with some hesitation, I accepted a call to serve as the Curate (or, Assistant Rector) at Grace Church in Madison NJ, a beautiful church in a lovely suburban town.

        Now, Madison is only 23 miles from my hometown Jersey City but at first it felt like a whole different world.

I arrived there, a brand-new priest, unsure of myself, feeling kind of insecure around people who I imagined were much more polished and sophisticated than I was.

I wondered if we would have anything in common.

        Would we be able to relate to each other?

        Would I be a good priest for them?

        Well, in a life full of blessings, Grace Church was one of the very best.

        First of all, the rector, the Rev. Lauren Ackland, was a wonderfully supportive mentor.

        From the start, she told me that she was looking for a “partner in ministry,” not some kind of underling, not a priest who would be kept in a very narrow lane.

        And, sure enough, she shared the whole church with me, encouraging me to get involved in all of it, to try out my own ideas and see what worked and what didn’t.

        A great experience and a very effective way to learn.

        And I’ve told Amelia that I hope to be the same kind of mentor that Lauren was for me. (You can ask her how I’m doing!)

        Another thing about Grace Church is that it had many excellent ministries. 

        Grace was committed to good works.

        Just a few examples include  Habitat for Humanity, preparing and serving food at a local soup kitchen, donating lots of food and other supplies. There was a large choir, which included many kids and youth. There was even a group that cared for the church grounds. They called themselves the “Lay Weeders.”

         So, there was a lot going on, so much ministry - more than I had ever seen at a church, honestly.

         I think I told you once before about my first meeting with Lauren when she ran down the list of all the good stuff that was happening at the church. At one point, I interrupted her and asked a question that now embarrasses me a little. I asked something like “What makes all of this possible? Why are there so many great ministries here?”

        And without hesitation, Lauren said that it was because of the “daily worship.”

        Amazingly, Grace Church offered at least one public service of worship every day of the year – and Lauren claimed that was the source of this abundant good work.

        I’ll be honest, I didn’t really believe her but, in time, I realized that she was right.

        Although most of the weekday services were not well attended – in fact, sometimes it was just the officiant all alone, praying on behalf of everybody – I’m convinced that all that worship had a powerful spiritual effect on the whole community.

        To use Lauren’s phrase, the church walls were “bathed in prayer.”

        “Bathed in prayer” every day.

        As I’ve said before, offering daily worship here is a goal of mine. We’ve only got four more days to cover, so we’ll see, maybe we’ll get there!

        But, as we heard in today’s first lesson from Isaiah, none of our worship is pleasing to God if we are not also “seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, pleading for the widow.”

        None of our worship pleases God if we are not also sharing God’s blessings, caring for the poor, and standing beside the vulnerable.

        Prayer and work.

        I’ve also been thinking back to those early days because a man named Kit Cone died a couple of weeks ago.

        Kit was a fascinating guy, smart and clever, and a deeply committed Christian.

         For many years he had owned a local newspaper, and he also spent a great deal of his life serving as a missionary in Liberia.

        Kit was a very large and much-loved and respected presence at Grace Church.

        I’m pretty sure he was the first verger that I ever met.

        He also officiated at many of the weekday services – and had the challenging job of scheduling the officiants and readers at all those services.

        He was deeply rooted in prayer and worship and, I have to say, he was also very particular about how both lay people and clergy should play their roles in church.

        Some years before I arrived, a priest from the city of Newark called the Grace Church. He said that a family had been burned out of their home, and he hoped that maybe the people of Grace could provide some assistance.

        Kit and other parishioners swung into action. They gathered and delivered many of the items that a family with almost nothing might need – and from that experience of generosity and service to the poorest of the poor, a new ministry was born.

        For most of its history it was called the Recycling Ministry – maybe not the best name because it sounded like they collected bottles and cans – but for years they accepted donations of furniture, appliances, linens, and so on, much of which was stored in garages donated by the church.

        It seemed like almost every day, Kit – who had a truck he called “Bruno” – and his band of volunteers - some parishioners, some not - would head out, either to pick up donations or to deliver much needed items to people in need.

        Later, when I was back in Jersey City, one of our church families had found a place to live but had very little. So, I called Kit and, sure enough, he and “Bruno” and some volunteers made the trip from Madison to Jersey City and furnished this family’s new and very bare apartment.

        I remember looking at the family – the parents and their two daughters - watching all of this in amazement.

        This “old man with a truck,” as he often called himself, was such a blessing for them and for so many others.

        Since Kit was a newspaperman, each day he would send out an email called the “RM Notes” detailing the daily work of the ministry along with his own keen and quirky observations from the road – like updates on the price of gas, or the opening and closing of restaurants and stores.

        The Recycling Ministry was a very special ministry.

        And I think you’ll agree that it has a kind of St. Thomas’ ring to it, but that’s not why I’m telling you about it today.

        In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus tells us to be generous, and also warns us to be alert, to stay awake.

        And I think that’s a very good reason to gather here as often as possible to pray and sing and to receive Christ’s Body and Blood into our bodies and souls.

        When we do that, day after day – when we bathe these old walls in prayer, week after week – we are more alert, more openhearted, more ready to respond to whatever God may be calling us to do.

        And, you know, just like many years ago at Grace Church when a phone call gave birth to the Recycling Ministry, I’ve seen that same beautiful process happen right here.

        Because we pray together and hear God’s Word together, a few conversations about the plight of Afghan refugees evolved into a life-changing ministry, life-changing for both the Afghans and us.

        Because we pray together and hear God’s Word together, some parishioners reading with kids at Owings Mills Elementary School bloomed into a life-changing ministry, life-changing for both the children and us.

        Prayer and work.

        This is how we praise God.

        This is how we please God, both at Grace Church and here at St. Thomas’.

        We gather for prayer, where we are equipped, readied, for the ministry God calls us to do.

        Prayer and work.

        Kit Cone understood that. And he lived that.

        Amen.

Rich Toward God, Together

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD

August 3, 2025

Year C, Proper 13: The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Hosea 11:1-11

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

Colossians 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

Rich Toward God, Together

Well, it’s almost two weeks later, and I’m still buzzing about the “Introduction to Community Organizing” meeting that we had in our Parish Hall.

I was really pleased by the strong turnout – a great showing by St. Thomas’ parishioners and also some others from a couple of other local churches, and also Owings Mills Elementary School and Owings Mills High School.

I was impressed by the quality of the conversation, how much skill was gathered in our Parish Hall, but not only skill – a deep desire to do good, to find new ways of being even more effective in dealing with the many challenges we face – to find new ways to help people right here in our own community – maybe through this process called “Community organizing.” 

I first learned about community organizing about 18 years ago.

Back then, the Bishop of Newark required all of us newly ordained clergy to attend a week-long community organizing training session.

There we learned some of the same principles that we talked about at our intro session the other day. We especially learned about power – what it is and how we can harness it, use it, to do good.

We learned about tension – something that most of us instinctually avoid, but it can be useful in holding leaders accountable and moving things forward.

We learned about and practiced one-on-one relational meetings, how to really talk and listen with someone, how to discern common interests and ways we might work together.

A very helpful skill that I use all the time.

But what I remember most from that training was a comment made by the facilitator, who told us that he didn’t like the word “empowerment.”

You hear that word a lot – “empowerment” – and it’s usually meant positively, you know, giving people a boost, giving them the tools they need to succeed – “empowerment.”

But the facilitator said “empowerment” is condescending, it sounds like we’re somehow giving power to people.

While, in fact, people have plenty of power – they just need to realize it and work together to use their power to make change.

I saw this at my church in Jersey City, where much of our community organizing work was around decent and affordable housing.

Early on, we had an action in our parish hall about the disgusting conditions in some apartment buildings owned by slumlords – some of our parishioners lived in those buildings.

And one of those parishioners stood up in the parish hall packed with people, including many elected officials. Behind her, on easels, were enlarged photos of her apartment: holes in the ceiling, broken cabinets – just a mess. 

And in front of all those people, she bravely told her story.

And, as she spoke, you could almost see the lightbulb switching on above her head as she realized that she had power – that together we had power.

The action continued with us walking over to one of those apartment buildings so the politicians could go in and see the conditions for themselves.

And, sure enough, on the next business day, the housing inspectors were dispatched throughout the city and hundreds of citations were issued.

The slumlords didn’t know what hit them!

Although not specifically religious, I’m convinced that community organizing is holy work.

It’s holy to build relationships with our neighbors, to use our gifts to strengthen and improve our community, to help people realize that they have God-given power.

To use Jesus’ words in today’s gospel lesson, community organizing is being “rich toward God.”

Rich toward God, together.

        In last week’s sermon, I talked a little about your extraordinary generosity, the overflowing generosity that I see here just about every day.

        To make my point, I used the classic New Jersey example of a ride to Newark Airport. It’s kind of a big ask back home but it’s a way bigger ask here, yet I know that, in a pinch, I could ask some of you for a ride up there and that you’d do it.

        And sure enough, after each service last Sunday, some of you said, yep, if you asked me, I’d be there for you.

        (One parishioner came up to me and said, nope, she wouldn’t drive me to the airport. But she would hire a car service for me. That’s pretty good, too!)

        Quite a contrast with the man in today’s gospel lesson.

        This rich man has done very well for himself, so well that he’s run out of room to store his crops.

        Rather than sharing what he has – the thought never seems to occur to him – he starts a building project, constructing new, larger barns to hold his abundance.

        And then he thinks, he’s all set for many years to come, many years of relaxing, eating, and making merry.

        Ahh…

        But none of that wealth will be any use to him on the day of his death.

        Jesus’ lesson is pretty straightforward, and certainly one that we – who by the world’s standards are very well off – need to hear, again and again.

        Life is not about how much stuff we have.

        And we all leave this world emptyhanded. 

        But as I reflect on this man – this man who was so selfish, and so shortsighted – I’m struck by how alone he is.

        The question, “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” is poignant. Maybe there is no one.

        There’s no mention of family or friends or neighbors. He might have shared his abundance with them. Jesus’ stories often include a big party, but not this time.

        Maybe the man was planning to “eat, drink, and be merry” all by himself.

        There’s also no mention of the workers who must have planted and harvested the crops – the workers who built the big new barns - the workers whose skill and muscle helped produce all this wealth – no mention of sharing anything with them.

        There’s no mention of the poor, who were probably right outside his door.

        The rich man doesn’t even pray – he offers no words of thanksgiving for his many blessings.

        This rich man is all alone, so alone that the only person he talks to is himself, his own soul.

        A bad place to be.

        You know, isolation and selfishness are kind of like the chicken and the egg.

        I’m not sure which comes first.

        I am sure, however, that one big reason why you are so generous – even generous enough to give me a ride to Newark Airport – is that we are together.

        Being part of church, being part of this church, encourages us, inspires us, challenges us, to be generous – to share our abundant gifts with the church itself – to share our abundant gifts with refugees and school children and hungry people.

        Being part of a church, being part of this church, encourages us to explore new ways of being generous, invites us to sacrifice a summer afternoon to learn about community organizing.

        And, also, when we’re part of a church, we are regularly reminded of ultimate things.

        Even if our barns are full, someday our life will end and we will be asked to account for how we used our gifts, how we shared our abundance.

        God has given us so much – so much wealth, so much skill, so much power.

        So much love.

        With God’s help, may we continue to use our gifts in service to others.

        May we be rich toward God, together.

        Amen.