St. Paul’s is many things to many people, and we often rejoice in the many ways we try to express that. But our core is the reality that we are the Body of Christ – every one of us in our uniqueness and together in our corporate reality. We who call ourselves members of this Church have made those vows referred to in the question above. We, or others for us, made them at our baptism and renew them over and over at baptismal ceremonies. I wonder how often we think of them as real vows, to be honored. And "all in your power" is no mean statement! It implies that whole depth and breadth of our capacities as humans created in God’s image. And what are we supposed to do to "support these persons" newly joined to us? Support conjures up physical, mental, financial care for others. I think the key for us as fellow "supporters" is in the next words – "in their life in Christ."

Whatever our individual callings, we have joined ourselves to this place named St. Paul’s and committed ourselves to helping each other "live in Christ." We do that by our day-to-day faithfulness to the inner workings of the Spirit that bear fruit in the life of our Parish - in our sharing of each other’s joys and sadness and the many ministries within and without the Parish. We do it exactly as Fr. Phil said by taking seriously our call to participation. We are not spectators, not on the outside looking in. Christ life is in the heart of God, looking out, and working for the Glory of God to shine everywhere – beautifully symbolized by those lit candles given to the newly baptized. In Becoming Human by Brian Taylor, he says, "Following Jesus is not simply a matter of following his rules …becoming a follower of Jesus means that we enter a path of inner transformation. Jesus did not simply demand that people do the right thing. Instead, he challenged people to be changed, from the inside out."

September is back (the "Advent" of parish life!) and with it the hustle and bustle of program start- up. The ministries of liturgy and Altar Guild and LEM and pastoral visits and more have faithfully carried on through the summer, and now it’s time for everything to kick into high gear. Maybe you have had a moment this summer to consider your response to God’s gifts to you – that "Stewardship Summer" I wrote about in June. If not, never fear, there is time and opportunity coming up in the next few months. (With God there is never a lack of time and opportunity!) We will have a multitude of chances to do all in our power to support each other in our life in Christ, to answer the call to participation, to welcome the Spirit to accomplish our inner transformation. How blessed we are to be channels of peace, justice, healing and joy in this place and time.