Deferred Maintenance, Deferred Ministry

Back in the 1970s a movement formed in the church called, “The Church without Walls.” The animating idea was to separate the mission of the church from the burden of property and its upkeep. On its face this seemed like a powerful concept. Take away maintenance costs and more resources will be available to do the work of Jesus Christ in the world!

Where are these “churches without walls” today? Very few are left and they are neither thriving nor powerful in ministry and mission. It turns out that there is a connection between place and purpose, between body and soul.


Christianity is incarnational; “The word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) Christianity affirms the goodness of physical existence; “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:30) Our physical being is not optional or disposable but a fundamental component of the self that God redeems and restores.

Music may exist in the mind of the composer but to be shared it at least needs lips, ears, a tongue, and lungs. To pass that music down the generations takes hands to write and perhaps pianos or an organ to support and reproduce the music. 


The key notion is “to share.” To share our faith in God and pass it down across the generations it turns out that we need sacred spaces, sacred places and bodies devoting time, energy, presence, and labor to the work. 


Our properties committee is working hard to reverse a tradition of deferred maintenance and inadequate investment in our buildings. At a recent meeting we estimated that to just complete basic repairs of our building envelope would cost between $400,000 and $500,000. You will be hearing more about this exploration but the key point here is this; it is unhealthy for our mission and ministry when we neglect the wellbeing of the physical plant that supports the mission and ministry.

I sometimes hear folks say, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have one without the other - a church without walls”. History teaches us that this dualistic thinking ends up diminishing everything we stand for in the long run. I am excited to do both and inspired to catch up on the needs of our buildings so we can give future generations the gift of ministry and mission without the drag of deferred maintenance!

Blessings,

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector

The Right Use of Moral Vision and Power

"The church is called to be engaged — to lend voice, moral authority, resources, and organized effort — to resist evil and to reorder our common life in ways that protect the most vulnerable and enhance human dignity for all people."  

- The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel from his blog post on gerrymandering

That is what I believe. What do you believe? Bring that belief to forum this Sunday as we explore the ways our church could be or should be involved in advocacy in the public square.

As a church we have a moral vision. As a church we have power. Most people agree immediately with the first statement and then become hesitant when it comes to the second. As an organized body we have people power, financial power, and spiritual power. Ideally, all three work together to shape our life together into the Body of Christ, and our surrounding community into a place of justice, peace, and flourishing approximating the vision of God for God’s world.

Peter Singer - professor of moral philosophy at Princeton University - uses “the drowning man test” to make us reflect on our power and responsibility. If you are hiking along a lake and you come across a man drowning in the water and you have the ability to swim or at least use your cell phone and yet you do nothing to help him, we would all agree that you are morally blameworthy if he is injured or dies. To observe distress and danger and to do nothing, even when you have the capability - i.e. the power - is to sin by omission, and to incur guilt.

As a church, we have power, a moral vision, and accountability before our God. Learning to exercise our voice and vision in faithful, appropriate action is certainly a learning curve. I would rather risk it than to not have an answer for God when I am asked why my brothers and sisters suffered and I did nothing.

Blessings,

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Rector

Parish Forum on Sunday, March 31:

Clarifying St. Martin’s Community Engagement Causes - Part 2

Led by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel and the Community Engagement committee
This week the Rev. Kerbel resumes his discussion on the work done by the community engagement committee and the parish to clarify our causes. Jarrett will review the causes named but this time we’ll dig a little deeper. This week we will gauge the range of comfort levels the congregation has to advocate for these causes. What do you think the church should advocate for? Should we limit ourselves to church discussions and/or participate with others? Are you willing to write a letter, lobby an elected official, run for office, march for the cause, get arrested, or like or share a Facebook post? These are a few sample questions that we’ll act on and discuss at this forum. Wear comfy shoes as we walk around the parish hall to find out how willing we are to move for our causes.

Have I Told You About My Diet?

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Erik Meyer, our music director, told me a great joke: An atheist, a vegan, and a cross-fitter walk into a bar. How do I know? Because they told everyone within two minutes of entering the place.

The joke was told because the staff and I were talking about the zeal with which people share what diet they are on. There are some things people love to share; diets, vacation locations, good books, good movies, and the list goes on.

“Imagine if folks shared about Jesus as much as they shared about their diet?” I wondered out loud eliciting warm laughter around the staff lunch table.

Clearly we are more comfortable on the topic of food than discussing our relationship with “the true bread that come down from heaven.” Why is that? Diets are scientific, you might say. Diets make me feel good, you might say. Diets address things we all share in common, you might say.

The faddish quality of diets makes me doubt the first objection. The second objection makes me wonder if our relationship with God also makes us feel good? For the third, if our faith does not address things we share in common, then what good is it?

So what is it? I would propose that elite cultural despisers (Schleiermacher's term, not mine) have taught us to be ashamed to admit we are people of faith. Every time I study the Bible I hear a voice in my head saying, “Only stupid people read the Bible!” Lord deliver us from “sitting in the seats of the scornful (Psalm 1),” I pray. In addition, some of the loudest voices of Christianity today are repellant and I completely understand people wanting to avoid an association with that version of the faith. Finally, it is hard to overestimate the damage the sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Church and now the Southern Baptist Convention rightfully does to the reputation of the church. If I risk opening my mouth about God’s love, will I be forced to give a long defense for everything Christianity has done wrong?

The onus is on us to find a reasonable account of the faith that is in us. The time is ripe for us to learn this skill. In fact, it is crucial. Our approach to the faith needs to be represented because it brings liberation to the oppressed, good news to the poor, release to the captive, and loving embrace to the outcast. When we avoid representing a sober and reasonable faith in the world we leave the most vulnerable in the hands of the most vicious.

How do we start? We practice. Try it out with someone you trust and love. Explore the words that best describe your experience of God even if it means bumbling and stumbling and babbling for a bit. Identify what you might need to learn to better articulate what you believe. Talk to the clergy if you feel like you have this gift or an opportunity to try it. We will help and we are learning too!

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector

What's your experience of God? What story would you share with others? Tell us in the comments below!