A friend of mine, the rector of a lively parish, tells the story of an older parishioner, a reserved Episcopalian who never spoke of her faith publicly, but who had shared with her priest a dramatic moment of God's spirit in her life. The rector (of course!) tried to get her to share this experience with the congregation. She resisted. My friend persisted. My friend won. So Sunday morning came, the woman stood at the lectern and said, "I simply want to let you know that there is more." Then she sat down.
As followers of Jesus, we are given confidence that there is always more, that in all of life and also in death, in all the changesand chances of life, we are never left alone or utterly comfortless. Wherever you are today--whether it's on a long, straight away stretch, at a critical intersection, or maybe even feeling lost--our faith tells us there is more.
This summer a priest from North Carolina visted the staff, as well as several members of our vestry and our strategic planning team. He came at my invitation to tell us about a congregational planning tool that's been helpful in his own practice. In speaking about the product he developed, if he said "it's a pilot project" and "it's not quite finished" once he said it a thousand times. Evidently, it's a signature saying of his, because somebody once gave him a button with the letters: PBPGINFWMY--which was texting language for, "please be patient, God is not finished with me yet." Take this to heart.
--The Reverend Thomas J. Brown, Rector, the Parish of the Epiphany, Winchester
Originally appeared in the newsletter of the Parish of the Epiphany
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