“50 Years on Walters Ave” – October 25, 2008
Fiftieth Anniversary of Laying of Cornerstone
I Kings 8:22-30; I Peter 2:1-5. 9-10; Matthew 28:16-20
St. Giles Church, Northbrook IL – The Rev. Cynthia J. Hallas
We surely know that we are God’s own people. But I wonder how many of us average, everyday Christians, when we hear a portion of a letter intended for first-century Christian communities, as twenty-first century Christians see ourselves as a royal priesthood, or a holy nation? Is that just fancy language that makes for poetic anthem texts and pretty images, or do we claim it for ourselves?
Or how many of us average, everyday Christians think of ourselves as apostles? When we hear the story of those eleven disciples meeting Jesus on the mountain, who heard his words of authority: “Go therefore….” and were sent to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, to teach them the commandments, do we see ourselves in their company? Do we recognize that we, too, have been sent (which is, of course, what the word apostle means), or are we reluctant to claim that honor, thinking it belongs only to a handful of Jesus’ original followers?
Fifty years ago a group of Episcopalians in Northbrook were sent. The congregation wasn’t brand new, of course. They had been worshipping together for nearly nine years, but they were outgrowing the Christian Science Church in the center of Northbrook where they had been housed. Some land was available: a cornfield way out west (and in those days this location really was ‘way out west’). The purchase was made, ground was broken, a cornerstone laid – and an apostolic witness begin on this block of Walters Avenue. Dwight David Eisenhower was president, William Stratton was governor of Illinois (I had to look that up); Henry Knox Sherrill was Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (I had to look that up, too!) and William Burrill was Bishop of Chicago. Postwar economy was strong, the first of the baby boomers were just entering adolescence (that’s a scary thought!); those whom Tom Brokaw has dubbed “The Greatest Generation” were youthful couples with young children, and I know it’s hard to imagine, but many, many of the gadgets and conveniences most of us simply cannot live without these days hadn’t even been conceptualized, much less realized and marketed. My, how the world has changed!
This sermon is not intended to be a ‘walk down memory lane’; that will come later, as we enjoy dinner together in the Undercroft. Nevertheless, there are some things that must be said.
· First of all, to those of you who were a part of those events fifty years ago and more, missionaries who founded St. Giles in 1949 and eventually realized that the little space on Chapel Court was no longer big enough for your growing congregation; who raised money to buy these four acres on Walters Avenue and to erect these buildings; who worshipped here initially and prayed faithfully that God would bless and increase your work on behalf of the Kingdom, - thank you! Thank you for your faithfulness, your courage and vision, your apostolic witness.
· To those who watched and participated as the larger Church joined in and mirrored society’s struggles over issues of social justice: racism, sexism, civil rights, human sexuality; who persevered through Hymnal Studies I, II, and III, “Zebra” books, trial liturgies and folk masses; who witnessed the cycles of growth and decline that happen in each and every church community; who heard the last gasps of Christendom and watched the rise of pluralism and secularism and consumerism and post-modernism – whatever that last one means!; who were often aware of and perhaps mourned the fact that the Church as you had known it was dying and maybe wondering what would come, and yet who, week after week, year after year, faithfully made the worship of God in this community a part of your life because you trusted in the promise of resurrection – thank you! Thank you for your steadfastness, your devotion, your apostolic witness.
· And finally to those who currently make St. Giles your home, whether you go back fifty years or fifty days or anywhere in between; who are working to nurture and sustain a faith community that can embrace the changes and challenges that lie before us with hope and clarity, and to spread God’s Good News in new ways to a hurting world that more than ever lies just beyond our doors – thank you! Thank you for your creativity and insight, your energy, your apostolic witness.
Reaching 50 years of age – the magic half century mark - is a major event, whether the subject in question is a human being, an institution or organization, or even an invention. But turning fifty is not a goal to be reached. It’s a marker, a logical time to reflect, to celebrate, to assess the past and, if we’re in a proper and hopeful frame of mind, an impetus to plan for the future – where do we go from here? Where might God send us next?
What we at St. Giles have recently discovered is that what we seem do best, and where we believe God is sending us, is further into the ministry of ‘feeding people’ – physically and spiritually. The Vestry has adopted the first Millennium Development Goal – eradicate extreme poverty and hunger – as a mission imperative. Twenty-five years ago members of this parish began a program of cooperation with local food providers, who would donate day-old merchandise that would then be driven, by parishioners, to Chicago area soup kitchens and food pantries. Many of you here can claim participation in that ministry either currently or in the past.
Over the last six months or so, we’ve begun to expand that ministry. The St. Giles Hunger Project is partnering with the Diocesan Hunger Task Force and holding up the framework of our system as a model for other churches in the diocese, as well as for other area houses of worship, to partner with grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses to relieve hunger in our communities.
Like Solomon, we know that even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God, much less this house that human hands have built. Still, for fifty years on this spot, St. Giles has stood as a witness to Christ. It has baptized and made disciples and taught the commandments. It has ministered to the needy. It has been a place where meaningful liturgy and fine music in the service of God have flourished, where the faithful have been able to live out our baptismal covenant and in some cases have raised up persons from within it for holy orders. It has welcomed the stranger, comforted the suffering, and supported the faithful. Recognizing that,
lifting it up, giving thanks for it is why we’re here together, and I’m so grateful for this event and for all of you who are able to be with us in order to celebrate that for all it’s worth.
But always, always with an eye toward the future. There are those who think that the best days of the Church are behind it, or that the Christian faith has nothing left to offer the world, or that the Gospel has somehow run out of Good News. But that’s not the case. None of us choose the times into which we’re born or called to minister, and these are challenging times for us.
The Church can no longer claim the same public role or societal authority it once had. People no longer come to church just because it’s expected of them. We’re no longer living in a culture that supports the Christian life in the way that many of us, myself included, were raised to expect. In looking lovingly at the past, let’s not risk losing sight of the future into which God calls us, invites us, leads us, sends us.
That future is bright, indeed. When I look around me at what’s emerging – and I use that word intentionally; you’ll be hearing it a lot, from me and others, as we move forward – when I see what’s emerging, I’m so optimistic and filled with hope. We’re all learning to be Church, to be Christian community in a new way, for a new era; a way that’s both faithful and fresh, traditional and contemporary – what we sometimes call “ancient/future” – and I’m confident that those words once used by first-century civil authorities in Thessolonica to describe some early believers will be used to describe Christ’s Church in our own day: “These people who [are] turning the world upside down….” There is so much left for us to do.
We have come this far by God’s grace. And by that same grace this faith community of St. Giles in Northbrook, this holy nation, this royal priesthood, this body of apostolic witnesses – for we are all of those things - will continue to offer that witness, here on Walters Avenue and far, far beyond. That is our purpose, that is our mission, that is our gift. Amen.