Views from the Pews – Sunday, June 26, 2022

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we say thanks to our brother Louis who leaves us after years of service to our Church.  He leaves with our prayers, love and best wishes for a fulfilling retirement.  It is our hope that he will find more time for his family both immediate and extended, having been away from them for so long.  The contribution Louis has made to this Church forms a very important part of the history of the Church of the Transfiguration.

One of the pronouncements we hear very often is that we live in very challenging times.  While this is true, the reality is that there has never been a time when humanity has not had to contend with challenges.  The issue is the nature of the challenges we face.  At this point in history, we are being called as a Church to assist the family of humanity to accept and seek to overcome the challenges of our times.  As we embark on this task, it forces us to think about how do we do mission and carry out our ministry?

Our ministry is the fulfillment of God’s call upon our lives.  Ministry is the challenge we accept to make ourselves living expressions of God’s presence in the world.  As the church, our agenda is not self-serving or seeking to maintain traditions, but working towards the transformation of human community.  This transformation is intended to enable persons to fulfill God’s will and purpose for their lives.  As the Church, we must keep in active focus, what is God’s will and intention.  This is not a static thing as we must always keep the eyes of our faith open to recognize God’s intention in the ever changing and dynamic world in which we live. In a real sense  the issue is, not what are the challenges we are experiencing but how are we as the Church responding to the challenges.

Today I invite us as a Church to pray for divine guidance and direction as we face the challenges of our times in the strength of our Jesus.

Love always

Fr. Eddie