delivered at the Cathedral in Nov, 2008.
Welcome!
We at St. Mary's are a faith community committed to being agents of social transformation and Gospel-inspired change. As a hallowed space, this cathedral church has been a house of prayer for all people since 1858.
+ Andy Andrews
Dean of St. Mary’s listen to one of Andy's sermons
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| You Are the Church You Create |
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You and I can make a profound difference. Whatever the circumstances, we can have a positive influence on the lives of others. This is the Gospel promise. Giving of ourselves, skills and resources can dramatically improve the vitality of St. Mary’s. Have you ever heard the saying, “We may only be one person in the world, but we may be the world to one person”? Each of us, if we choose, can accomplish miracles of giving hope, love and healing.
St. Mary’s needs you and me right now more than ever. Our beloved faith community is on the increase. New faces, a budding of children and a renewal of confidence and trust in God and each other are marked qualities of St. Mary’s. It is a joy and a blessing, but it is also fragile. We are barely breaking even. The Cathedral grounds are beautiful and sacred and costly to maintain. Many of you have expressed a desire for an additional clergy person to assist me. Can I get an “amen!” Many want added offerings to feed their hungry souls. New outreach ministries are emerging. We know we need additional programs to nurture all the children. We also have a budding young adults crowd that needs fostering. Plus, there is a huge necessity to better look after our older members. We are in an excellent and exciting place, but our foundation seems shallow. I am fearful that many of us will continue the status quo in how we give ourselves to St. Mary’s. I pray you are experiencing our renewal, and I pray your giving matches the revitalization of St. Mary’s. More generosity from our faith community would strengthen us for generations to come. We all believe that giving is a fundamental human need – one that benefits both the recipient of the gift and the giver. Jesus and the early Church illustrated the power and joy of giving abundantly to a particular cause. Their heroic actions created holy and needed improvements to a struggling world. Holy Scripture shares many amazing stories of how ordinary people with limited resources gave richly, and this made all the difference for the Christian movement. My wife, Anne, and I take seriously the call of tithing 10% of our net income. We have a mortgage, three big mouths to feed plus a crazy dog and untamed cat, a mountain of diapers and other costly items to maintain a healthy household. Yet, we still find a way to give our faith community 10% of the net resources we have. The ancient model is set forth in Genesis 28:10-22 with the story of Jacob and the ladder to heaven. Read Acts, especially chapters 4 and 5, and discover the abundant giving of the early Christians. There is a true joy in giving abundantly to a cause you love. No boasting but only sharing the exhilaration of what we receive as givers to St. Mary’s. We are very blessed at St. Mary’s, and the best way to experience the grace and warmth of what God is doing in and through St. Mary’s is to give yourself abundantly to it. It could be one of the most profound things you can do in life. October 18th kicks off the “St. Mary’s Living Through Giving” campaign. Let’s don’t let this moment pass us by. I pray we invest ourselves even more richly in our wonderful God-given house of prayer for all people. You are the church you create.
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