It seems that we tend to make evangelism much more complicated than we have to. More often than not, people will tend to say something like, “I don’t know anyone who isn’t already a Christian.” And while that may well be true, reality often betrays the label. Asking folk if they have a “church home” will invariably prompt them to say yes. End of conversation. The more pointed question we might want to ask is, “Do you go to church?” More often than not in today’s culture, folks will probably say no, thus opening the door for us to invite those folks to “come and see.” It’s a “yes/no proposition” that has nothing to do with any of us personally; rather, inviting another person to join you at St. James has everything to do with sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, him crucified and raised from the dead, until the day of his coming. Evangelism isn’t rude or invasive. It’s not rocket science or brain surgery. Sharing Christ, quite simply put, is a gift offered without our taking ownership of what the recipient of our gift does with it. Give the Gift.

Wednesday, January 18th, began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with the observance of the Confession of Peter. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that short of the End Time and considerable relaxation of the “turf-wars” inherent amongst most denominations, Christian Unity will remain an oxymoron. Our annual observance of the Confession of Peter has far less to do with Christian unity than it does with the apostle’s proclamation of Jesus as the Christ of God – the Good News. In the grander scheme of things, we all would do well to learn from Peter’s overt, yet quite simple confession when it comes to encouraging the sharing of Christ with others.

Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathaniel show up in Holy Scripture. In the Gospel according to John, these four share a common experience. Andrew found Jesus and got to know him. Then he went to his brother, Peter, encouraging him to share Christ too. Philip found Jesus and got to know him but, then, it was Philip who encouraged Nathaniel to share Christ. As you are well aware, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel all came to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus, that is to say personally and intimately, empowered the disciples to share Christ. Just so, our own personal relationship with the living Christ precedes our ability to share Christ meaningfully with another. By the same token, to find ourselves incapable of sharing Christ suggests that we may not quite possess the kind of relationship with Jesus that we think we do. Start to finish, it is all about an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you know Jesus or just know about him? The former will encourage others. The latter will bore them to tears!

One of the joys of being part of St. James is getting to read the thoughts of those who express themselves each week via the Stewardship and Evangelism messages that show up in the online and printed announcements. If nothing else, these efforts give us all opportunities to think about our care and feeding of the gifts with which God blesses us, as well as, our willingness to proclaim Jesus as Lord. As regards the latter, I know how very difficult a time most all of us have sharing the faith within us. Interestingly enough, that difficulty gets fed by the erroneous notion that our relationship with Jesus is a very private matter. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. In the grander scheme of things, aren’t we fortunate that those who came before us were under no such allusion? If you simply cannot bring yourself to tell the Story of God’s saving grace through the Lord Jesus and your experience of it at St. James, let me suggest that you at least be willing to mention the web site (www.saintjamesonline.org) to family and friends alike. Our web site speaks volumes, in print and visually, about almost every facet of the life and times of St. James Episcopal Church and School – no door knocking or Bible thumping required. Perhaps they will like what they see and will want to come and see…

Shepherds – the only group separating them from the bottom of the heap socially was carpenters! Yet it was to this disparate group of people that the angelic host appeared (proof positive yet again the God can and will work with all sorts and conditions). Would they have sojourned to Bethlehem otherwise? Probably not because Luke’s account of the Birth Narrative suggests that the shepherds were oblivious to the star. The curiosity inculcated in them by the throng of angels seems to have inspired the shepherds to go seeking a babe wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. They found the child just as the angels said. Beyond that discovery, nothing much else happened. The shepherds, however, wouldn’t let it go deciding that what they had been told and what they had seen was worth repeating to any who would listen. It appears, then, that they became the first evangelists. In our yearly celebration of the birth of Jesus, we have heard the angels sing and we have been to the crèche to see for ourselves the infant child of Mary. May that which we have heard and that which we have seen so inspire us in the coming days and weeks to do the work of evangelization – to tell this wonderfully powerful Story to any who would listen with the holy hope that some might actually hear.

We all want to plan for our future, whether that means retirement, a new home or a well-deserved vacation. Our approach should be no different when it comes to stewardship. The gifts of time and money we give now help to build up St. James for future generations. We can't assume that St. James will continue to exist and that that is enough. In order for our church to thrive, we are obligated to act now to make our hopes a reality. Please consider the importance of giving and the impact it will make, not only today, but in the future.

Are you among those who want to pledge, but have no idea where to begin? Consider what it takes to maintain your household, such as electricity, water and maintenance. Now think of the size of our church household, hosting more than 100 members and guests each week. Maybe the way to begin is with these essentials, matching the average amount of your electricity and water bills in a monthly pledge so that St. James can better afford its own utilities. The point is that we should think of our church, not only as a spiritual gathering place, but also as a brick and mortar building with real world expenses. No matter what your income, there is a place to begin and your effort will make a difference in our church.

Happy New Year! It’s a yearly reminder to us that we can take a pause, assess ourselves and our situation, and make changes if so desired. Now we’re a couple weeks in and it feels like nothing changed. If that’s happened to you, it’s not too late. Whenever you do reflect and then look forward to the New Year, I hope you consider your support of the Church as a benchmark to improve upon. When’s the last time you made an improvement?

Many of us were lucky enough to be raised in a church-going family. Some were Episcopalian families, and some were even lucky enough to be St. James families. Even when that is the case, many of us were not taught as children what it means to really be a member of a church, we were only taught to go to church and behave. It is really much more than that, essentially a pooling of resources, treasure and talent, to benefit the group and beyond. I did not know, or I had long forgotten, the Biblical Tithe is 10%. It sets the minimum standard for giving to the Church. It is something that some of us strive to attain, sometimes for a lifetime. For many others, it is something to cast away as impossible, unreachable, and therefore an “ignorable” gold standard that can’t possibly be met. Regardless of your ability to meet the Tithe, you should know, and need to know- what it is, and that you should be working towards meeting it. Otherwise, you are just going to church, and behaving.

A couple of years ago, your Vestry adopted a new approach to managing the Stewardship effort at St. James. The previous method was to find several people to serve on the Stewardship committee, to handle the bulk of the workload in developing a theme, planning an event, and following up on pledge cards. The new approach is simple: everyone on the Vestry is on the “Stewardship Committee.” The basic philosophy is: Stewardship is everyone’s responsibility. This principle holds true from the Vestry, and on to the congregation as a whole. It’s not somebody else’s job, it’s your job. We individually contribute our treasure and talent to make St. James what it is. What are you doing?