Six Years of Saying Yes

Six years ago, on a Saturday evening, I was ordained a priest. The next morning, I began full time ministry as Rector of Trinity Church. Apparently, Bishop Scarfe believed one night was sufficient preparation.

Of course, very little about that time was ordinary. COVID had closed churches and other public spaces, congregations were trying to figure out how to be communities when gathering was difficult, and none of us knew what the coming months would bring. I was venturing into full time parish ministry for the first time.

What I did know was that I believed God was calling me to Trinity Church in Muscatine. Six years later, I still believe that.

But saying yes to a call does not mean knowing exactly what that yes will require.

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells a story about two sons asked by their father to work in the vineyard. One says no, but later changes his mind and goes. The other says yes, but does not go. Jesus reminds us that faithfulness is more than the words we speak. Our yes has to become something we live.

I have also come to believe that our yes can change.

What we were yesterday is not exactly what we are today, and what we are today is not exactly what we will be tomorrow. We are continually being formed. Sometimes faithfulness means continuing something we have done for years. Sometimes it means changing direction. Sometimes we discover that what God is asking of us now is different from what we once imagined.

These six years have certainly formed me. I have gained a deeper appreciation for parish ministry as a call to be a priest not only to a congregation, but also within the wider community. I believe that is the ministry to which I have been called, even when it stretches me.

And it does stretch me. Ministry involves people, so it can be difficult. There have been times when I have been overstressed. There have been times when I have wondered whether I have done what I needed to do. I have been disappointed in others, and I know others have been disappointed in me.

Grace is present there, too.

This has never been only about my yes. The Church understands ministry as belonging to all the baptized. Trinity’s life and ministry are possible because many people have said yes, often long before I arrived.

Laundry Love is one example. It began through Trinity’s Jubilee Ministry before my time here and has grown into a truly community wide ministry. Trinity has also said yes by sharing our building, including our partnership with Crossroads as they provide Day Hab services here during the week. There are many other yeses, some highly visible and others known by only a few.

None of us can say yes to everything. Neither can Trinity. Faithfulness means considering what we can do with the people, gifts, resources, and opportunities entrusted to us. It also means recognizing that we need one another.

Paul tells the Philippians that God is at work within them. That is where our yes begins. We do not serve, give, or love so that we can earn God’s grace. Grace has already been given. We respond because God is already at work, forming us into people who can love and serve in new ways.

So six years after one particular yes, I find myself wondering about the next ones.

What is God calling each of us to do next?  What is God calling Trinity to become? We will need conversation, listening, visioning, and planning. Some things will continue. Some will change. We do not have to know all the answers today.

But your yes matters. It matters to God. It matters to this congregation. It matters to our community. And it matters to you.

Trinity’s mission statement is “Making Christ Known with Love and Compassion.” How we live that mission will continue to change as we are formed by God and by one another. We may not know what every future yes will look like. But we can keep listening to God and to one another, remain open to where we are being led, and trust that God is already at work among us.

Kevin+