Leaving St John's

Farewell Sermon: Harrismith Jan 9th 2011 Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
This is my farewell sermon here at St John’s, after 5 years of ministry. Normally, I give a report at our Annual Vestry Meeting, so you may think of this as a variation of that. But without the facts and figures.

It’s been a very good 5 years for me - better than I could have imagined. I hope that most of our congregation have benefitted as much as I have.

Much at St John’s has impressed me: firstly the quality of worship. As I’ve said and written many times before: this is our number one priority. We come to church to worship God and, then, to receive his many blessings in the sacraments and in other ways. It’s great that the congregation joins in the worship enthusiastically and not just as an audience – which is the case in some churches. The object is not our entertainment, even though we’re entitled to enjoy ourselves. I suspect that God often finds us entertaining and has a good chuckle, especially when we manage to get things wrong! Anglicans the world over are famous for being frightened to sing – but not at St John’s. Led by Martie & our little choir, our singing has echoed around the halls of heaven, to the joy of the angels & saints. It’s no accident that the biggest book in the Bible is a collection of 150 songs.
My ministry at Eliza Lidddell has been a blessing to me. I shall miss my work at the Hospital as a member of the Board and chaplain to the staff. We have a wonderful new hospital – be proud of it.

It’s wonderful that we have been able to be a blessing to so many in the community, mainly through the dedication & hard work of our tiny Ladies’ Guild. By way of mealie meal and blankets, they have fulfilled Jesus’ instruction to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They, and others, have also enriched our church community by beautifying the church and enabling the fellowship of Sunday breakfasts. Their Friday morning teas are famous throughout the whole of Harrismith.
I'm very grateful for the Guild's most generous birthday/Xmas gift and will enjoy spending it at Woolworths when I get to Bloem.

We have a good collection of Lay Ministers, Readers, Servers, sidespeople & sacristans. The more people involved in leading the worship, the better. Our Sunday School & Teenz group are the envy of the diocese.

As I said last week, I don’t normally talk about myself & my experiences, but it may be useful to tell you how I came to St John’s. I was in Ficksburg for 12 years, which is more than long enough for anybody anywhere, and was looking to retire in less than 3 years. The Bishop asked me if I would come to St John’s and I explained that this was impossible. I had at most 3 years to go to retirement, which wasn’t long enough to start something new. The Bishop accepted this – it made perfect sense.

Then, I was preaching on the Sunday before Christmass when the Gospel was the Annunciation: The angel Gabriel came to Mary and asked her to be the mother of the messiah. Mary said that it was impossible for all sorts of good, sensible reasons. Gabriel’s response was “Nothing is impossible with God” (and that was the theme of my sermon). I suddenly realised that I was, even more than usual, preaching to myself. Gabriel wasn’t only speaking to Mary but also to me.

A few weeks later I happened to be speaking to the Bishop and mentioned that I would go to St John’s if he still wanted me to and if they would have me. I came here for interviews, and even though this old bachelor bore no relation to what St John’s wanted in the way of a priest (young, married with children), I was accepted. The rest is history. It’s not hard to see God’s clever, scheming, plotting, guiding hand in all this.

Retirement from St John’s is not my idea. I never felt less like retiring. But there is a time (God’s time) for everything. So, now I’ll read my Gospel for today. It’s not the one prescribed by the Lectionary, which is the Baptism of Christ, but verses from chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. (1-8) It was a hit song ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’, by a little Irish girl, Mary Hopkins, when I was a teenager. I think I’ve only ever used it before at funerals.
Read it ………………………………
The point is that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. It’s now my time to go elsewhere and do what I don’t yet know. It’s also time for a change at St John’s. You may well be without a resident priest for some time. But it’s happened before and St John’s has flourished. You will do so again. The Cluster Leader, Fr Ben Mafereka will be in charge and will ensure that sacramental ministry continues. While the lay leadership will look after everything else. God will bless you if you co-operate with him & give him half a chance. Noting is impossible!