Emmanuel Baptist Church 275 State St.  Albany, NY 12210 (518) 465-5161 Click here for directions
A Welcoming and Affirming Congregation

Punctuation

Rev. Ellen P. Tatreau

7/20/08

Samuel 3: 1-10

Philippians 3: 12-16

            I wasn’t sure that the lump in my throat would allow me to share any words with you this morning.  My emotions are running high on this, our first time in worship together, since you received my letter of resignation as your pastor.  I realize that each of you represents a place on the continuum of responses to my notice…in fact, I expect that most of you will, if you haven’t already, vacillated between feelings and thoughts of disappointment, maybe a touch of anger.  I know many have already conveyed feelings of sadness, but I would not be surprised or even offended if some are feeling some relief or complete indifference. The feelings and thoughts are all valid for what they are, because they are your thoughts and feelings.   Doug and I greatly appreciate the responses of understanding that have been shared and it is our hope that over the next six weeks we will all come to a place of understanding that, when you called me to come and serve as your pastor 4 ½ years ago, we were embarking on a journey together within the context of the ongoing history of ministry as Emmanuel Baptist Church in Albany.  There were no term limits set at the time of that call…for we honor the moving of the Holy Spirit and have faith in God’s timing that does not always tick in the same rhythm of our own intentions or desires.

            Every call of the Lord to service is an open-ended verb in process.  When Samuel responds to the Lord’s call and runs to Eli with the response, “you called me”…the process of the call is ended in a verb expressed in the past tense.  But, when Samuel responds the fourth time with, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel then opens himself to an interaction that invites the Lord to indicate what he is to do…but it also puts Samuel in a state of active and ongoing listening, discovering, exploring, comprehending what it is that God wants him to do AS he serves.  Every call to ministry should be an open-ended response to the process of God’s revelation to engaging in that which needs to be done for God’s people and creation. 

Two years ago, the United Church of Christ adopted as it’s denominational biennial slogan, the quote of Gracie Allen, “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.”   This quote is taped on the board next to my desk.  It reminds me that I am part of God’s statement about life, the work of Jesus the Christ and this world’s salvation…not the other way around.  I have always tried to be very careful about never referring to this church or any other church as MY church…it’s not Ellen Tatreau’s church…it’s Christ’s church through which I serve, as the Spirit and God’s people allow.  By the Grace of God at work through all of you, you have encouraged, nurtured, guided and corrected my service to Christ through this church and community and for this opportunity, I am incredibly, humbly and joyously thankful. 

In the reflective reading from Ted Loder, are the words:  “I thank you for my time and for the things that are yet possible and precious in it:…”  The journey that we have had together has been, I believe, time well spent for you, for me, and, I trust, for Christ’s church universal.  This time has been precious, valuable and life-giving.   We have not just embarked on works of mortar and bricks, but have been building bridges to Emmanuel’s future as a vibrant, prophetic, and spirit-led community of Christ followers …seeking to be faithful to his commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, as we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.  We can list things that we have endeavored and accomplished over our years together, but more importantly, we have planted seeds for what is “yet possible and precious”.  When we plant seeds for what is “yet possible and precious”…then we engage in acts of hope and trust. Nothing about Emmanuel’s ministry over the last few decades has been easy in terms of struggles with the building, the loss of vital and valued members, and diminished resources for ministry.  And yet, we have remained a people of hope, committed to doing the best ministry we can…not only with the resources available, but daring to trust in the mystery of resources yet to be received!   In Romans 5:  Paul talks of how “suffering can build endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”    Sometimes I think about these words and think…okay God…enough with the suffering…I’ve got quite enough character thank you very much!   It is so easy for us to take things for granted when life seems to be a bowlful of cherries; and, while none of us would ever hope for hard times…there is good to be discovered through our ability to endure those times, if, as we emerge from them, we are able to be thankful for what we have and who we are…because of God’s grace.

Loder also wrote these words:  “For the need of you (God) is the truth of me, and your presence with me is the truth of you, which sets me free for others, for joy, and for you…”    It would be nearly impossible for me or any other parish minister, to dare to enter into the very personal life of a congregation…through times of death, or birth, or in the ups and downs of relational living…if we didn’t acknowledge that what enables us to be “free for others” is the need of God’s presence in all that we endeavor to do on behalf of God’s people.  And sometimes we are able to be faithful…and sometimes we are not…but we “press on”…because, as Paul says, “Christ Jesus has made me his own.”  Likewise, it would be even harder to ever leave a particular church community that we have grown to love deeply, if we weren’t able to confess, that “the need of God” is the “truth” of who we are, and that truth sets us free for others and for joy. 

My life lived in the truth of my need for God, does not allow me to place periods in God’s statement of where and with whom I do my ministry. I can attempt to place semi-colons, ellipses and commas to try to provide some breathing space that I sense I need, which is what I am trying to do now, but I know that, ultimately, my life is always lived in the statement of God’s punctuation.  God and I have been in this conversation for quite awhile, and we’ve decided, together, to honor a pause right now, for my sake, for my family’s sake, and for the future of God’s intention for me.  Moreover I can be part of this pause in Emmanuel’s life statement, because I acknowledge that while I have been blessed to be an instrument of God’s work through this church, what is “yet possible and precious” is yet to come with or without my presence here…because “Christ Jesus has made you his own.”   

Does it bring me sadness to leave a people I have grown to love?  Of course it does.  Do I long to see the children I have dedicated grow into young leaders of Christ’s church?  Of course I do.  Do I want to be here listening when you most need a ministering presence; do I want to be with you through difficult days of sickness and death; do I want to celebrate with you in your Anniversary Year? Or attend the next Medieval Feast, or dance the Hokey Pokey again with the children?  Or actually be here to dedicate the Thomas Lahut kitchen!  Yes, Yes…I want to do all those things…and yet, it’s not all about me.  There is a reason why Moses never crossed into the Promised Land with the Israelites…because it wasn’t all about salvation through Moses…it was all about the saving, steadfast promises of God.  I am but a comma in the life of Emmanuel…and I give thanks that I have been part of your journey and God’s statement through this church’s ministry.  It is a privilege.  It is an honor…and neither of those are statements merely about the past, but are part of our futures.  Amen.