Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Each Eastertide I try to inject some fun and relaxation into the lives of parishioners. For the third year running, I will host “Joy Walks;” a four-mile trek around the glacial lake that gives our Green Lake neighborhood its name.

But the new big fun innovation for this year is “Lunch is on me.” Here is the blurb that ran in our newsletter, the Log:

A new Easter treat from Pete is “Lunch is on Me.” Pete is looking to meet you in your workplace and see your work setting then take you out for a free lunch near by. It is part of our year-long effort to honor the gifts each of us use in our daily lives. If lunch can’t work, Pete will meet you for coffee.

Obviously budget and time limit how many lunches will be offered between April 24 and June 11. So sign up right away by emailing Pete at rector@saintandrewsseattle.org. Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch?"

This will allow me as a pastor to see the actual work situations where most of our members practice their Christian ministries in the world. I will probably bless a few desks along the way.

We have spent the entire program year trying to change the focus of our member’s ministry from what they do on Sundays or through the week at church to what they do in their work places and in their homes and neighborhoods. Instead of a ministry fair to begin the year, we had a celebration of vocations with a litany that ended with “Loving God, in sending your Son you gave us an example to love one another as he loved us and through your Spirit you have given us each gifts by which we can serve you and one another. This day we thank you for these gifts and pledge to you our faithful use of them in service to your name.”

At Pentecost this year we will once again celebrate all the ways we use our gifts in the wider world in recognition of the daily practice of our Christian lives.

Too often pastors and church leaders spend their energy recruiting members to serve the church at the church on the church’s terms meeting the church’s organizational needs. At St. Andrew’s we are trying to turn the tables and recognize that nearly all of our Christian ministry is enacted away from the church building – in our homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Taking parishioners out to lunch is one way to honor this fact. And, it gets me away from the church and out in the world.