Grace and peace and all God’s love be with you now and forever. There is a Hebrew expression for gratitude ha karat ha tov which translates “recognizing the good.” To recognize the good is an act of awareness and an act of response. It is both to look for and name the good and to say or do something with or about the good recognized. How are we Good Shepherds doing with our personal and collective ha karat ha tov? What is the good you see around you and among us and how do we or how shall we respond?
When I look around, I see plenty of good. Your vestry and I met recently on a Saturday to talk about the good we see in this parish. That good is in part the warm and welcoming spirit that I believe is part of the origin DNA of this parish. This faith community was established by people of different denominational traditions who sought community. Good Shepherd has been a welcoming meeting place from its inception. We discerned that this is a good thing, a special charism from God, that we can and should capitalize upon and grow. You will hear more about one gentle way we will do that by being present on the square, Thursday mornings, this summer.
When I look around, I see plenty of good. I see a Sunday parish hall welcoming community to gather and share their lives. I see a choir vibrant and growing in new ways under our excellent new music director. I see faithful parishioners practicing the ministry of presence both in the pews and on-line. Your faithful gathering matters to those who seek community. I see saints who have “been there and done that” - who can tell you all about the challenges of life and aging - and yet their faith and faithfulness are unshaken. I see a community that continues to respond when asked, that continues to serve when called upon. I see new leaders stepping forward to care for this church and its people. There is so much good to recognize and to be thankful for. Thank you, God and thank you, Good Shepherds.
Years ago, I completed a first spiritual biography. Think of that as a time line of significant life events. I found that exercise helpful for becoming aware of the good that is always present and identifying who to thank. Grace abounds and it is up to us to recognize the good and respond. Today, I think about how that time line has changed over the past twenty years. Two decades ago this June, I left my secure, happy, academic position at the College of Charleston. That was a good gift from God made possible by people I know and some I will never know. Seventeen years ago, I was back in my wonderful home parish, the one that sent me off to seminary, to be ordained. My goodness, the blessed saints of that community and the things I learned from them. And then, thirteen years ago, I was sitting at the back of our nave listening to Fr. Tim McRee lead worship on my first day at Good Shepherd. It was Pentecost Sunday. Fr. Fred Lindstrom led worship the next Sunday and made the traditional reference to the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday. Highlights, grace, and good things along my spiritual journey. Now begins the fourteenth year of my ha karat ha tov in this place.
With gratitude for the good we have shared, now share, and the good we will share,
Fr. Bill+