Chapter four of the Letter to the Ephesians presents us with a helpful “word cloud” describing the Body of Christ functioning as it is intended. Here are some of the characteristics that the author of Ephesians considers integral to a healthy group of Christian disciples: humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, unity, peace, maturity, and honesty. As I ponder those words from Ephesians, the image that comes to my mind is the Church of the Good Shepherd. It’s almost as if this parish visibly embodies the Body of Christ as envisioned in Ephesians.
In the past five years that I have known this parish, I have seen great humility, which I think is a direct product of the trials and tribulations this parish has experienced. Parish life in some parts of the Church can easily be skewed towards a form of institutional narcissism that breeds an unhealthy spirit of competition with other parishes or a cliquishness that does not naturally welcome outsiders. But at Good Shepherd, the humbling experience of recent decades has inculcated a spirit of gentleness and loveliness among parishioners that fosters warmth and hospitality.
I have also seen tremendous patience in bearing with one another through sorrows and joys. Patience has certainly been required in the process of letting God rebuild—through human trust and efforts—a parish that came close to death. Patience is shown all the time in parishioners assuming the best in one another and in tolerating the imperfections of our humanity even while we strive to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Here at Good Shepherd, I see unity around the Gospel and sacramental life of the Church, and this unity supersedes all other loyalties that outside the Church could threaten to divide us. This unity is no easy peace with oppression (against which our prayer book cautions us) but a trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as manifested in the Church, knowing that we seek, collectively, the peace that passes all understanding. And this is not peace on the world’s terms.
Loving honesty has been shown in speaking hard truths to one another but assuming that when we tell the truth, we have each other’s best interests in mind. Loving honesty means that we can correct one another in faith while refusing to demonize one another. We can express differences of opinion and viewpoints while listening to one another with respect.
And maturity is deeply embedded in the spirit of Good Shepherd. There is great maturity of character, of knowledge, and of emotions. I realize that last week’s news of Robert McCormick’s (and, eventually, my) impending departure has provoked many emotions, sadness among them. But I have been deeply touched by the maturity exhibited even amid anxiety and sadness. I have heard so much gratitude, kindness, and understanding in your interactions with me. And I’m very grateful for that.
Ephesians 4, along with St. Paul’s theology of the Body of Christ, will be crucial to our parish life in the coming months. On a theological level, Paul’s wisdom enjoins us to do the careful work of encouraging one another as we work together in ministry. Working together assumes that we don’t expect others to lend their hand so we don’t have to or that we don’t assume that a certain segment of the parish will pull the bulk of the weight in financial giving. We are all in it together. Working together as the Body of Christ means that any challenge in the parish is a challenge for each of us, and in collaboration and with God’s help, no challenge is insuperable. To move forward as a spiritually mature family of Christian disciples, we must know our spiritual gifts. We must assume that God has already supplied us at Good Shepherd with the necessary gifts (and people!) to carry out the work God is calling us to do. If all of us are aware of our own gifts and are using them in ministry, then we will avoid burnout because the use of our individual gifts is intended to be lifegiving. But on a practical level, Paul’s words encourage us to trust that we will be strong enough to navigate any challenge or period of uncertainty if we do the careful work of discerning our spiritual gifts and then set about using them.
In short, the upcoming period of transition at Good Shepherd will require all hands on deck. I have repeatedly said that the parish is weaker than it could be if all of us are not sharing our gifts in ministry. Over the past few years, the vestry and I have been working diligently to ensure that we are building sustainable ministry at Good Shepherd. If a ministry endeavor feels like a stretch at any given time, then it could be that the Holy Spirit has not yet sent us the right people to help us carry out that ministry. That is not cause for anxiety. It is, rather, a cause for patience. It does not mean we should give up on a ministry. We simply might need to wait until everything and everyone we need for that ministry are ripe for harvesting.
We seem to be united as a parish in our understanding of which ministries are important to us. This was evidenced in last February’s Parish Visioning Conversation. The 2026 pledge campaign goal was set based on realizing key takeaways from that visioning conversation. If, after prayer and conversation, we are in agreement about what God is calling us to do, then we can trust that God has already given us what we need to carry out the vision we have discerned.
I say all this as a way of encouraging us as we confront the inevitable accusing voices of anxiety and uncertainty that will enter our heads. As I’ve said previously–and I do believe it!--among our parishioners and Friends, we have the financial resources to reach our pledge goal of $290,000. It will, of course, require true sacrificial giving to look deep within ourselves and into our pocketbooks, to put God at the center of our lives, and then give generously back to God. But I’m trusting that the money we need to support God’s vision for us at Good Shepherd is already present among us. I’m also convinced that the spiritual gifts needed for the parish to thrive into the future are already among us, and I fully expect that the Holy Spirit will continue to send new people with new and necessary gifts to enable spiritual and physical growth in this place. By showing up faithfully for prayer and worship, we will be better poised to notice and welcome those people and their concomitant gifts that show up on our doorstep.
In the months ahead, we should be honest about our feelings of anxiety, skepticism, and uncertainty. I’m sure we all have them. But those feelings are not necessarily indicative of the reality of the future, nor are they even rational. We know that our Lord, in his earthly life, continually encouraged his disciples not to be anxious. It’s easier said than done, but St. Paul gives us some spiritual and practical advice. Let us look to the body of Christ. Let us find those in our midst with the gift of exhortation (encouragement), and let their voices be heard. Let us help one another in discovering their spiritual gifts. Above all, let us pray constantly. And then let us get to work, trusting and knowing that the the One who was raised from the dead is always doing a new thing, and he is ready to equip us and support us in the never-ending work of realizing God’s new creation on earth.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle