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February 01, 2008

The Heard Word

A little known ministry at Trinity involves flowers. Each week one of four people take flowers to members of Trinity who are homebound. They go to the sacristy on Monday or Tuesday and break the altar bouquets from the previous Sunday into three or four bouquets, put them in a vase, and deliver them to the people who are listed on the flower schedule. That is all there is to it.

What it really does is bring great joy to those who are remembered. It is also a holy experience since the flowers come from the altar. I have visited many people who simply cannot make it to church. One of the first questions is usually about friends they remember in church or, “Father Fred what is going on in church?” Sometimes they want to know if they are remembered and if someone is sitting in their pews. They are lonely and just want to connect with someone who can bring a piece of the world to them.

We need more flower delivery people. Won’t you step forward and help? Just call and leave me a message and I will get back to you. We do not deliver flowers during Lent or Advent and we are covered during Epiphany—but, come Easter, we will be delivering flowers clear through to next Advent. We need your help!

So what do we have to do to let our little light shine? That depends on what God calls us to do. God calls some of us to be preachers—and others to be Sunday school teachers—and others to be choir leaders or choir members—and others to work with youth and others to work with our home bound. But, most of all, God calls us to be Christians—people who try to live as Jesus would have us live. That, in itself, can be a powerful witness.

Philip Yancey, the Christian author, asks: “What would happen in the national consensus if these nine words came to mind when you said the word, ‘Christian’—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?” Those are the nine things that the Apostle Paul listed as the fruits of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatian church.

So let your light shine!
Fr. Fred