Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I’ve spent much of the past week reading and taking walks on the beach in Rio. My girlfriend is from Brazil, so I was lucky enough to come out here for the holidays. It’s been a little strange celebrating Christmas in 100-degree heat and going for a swim in the ocean on Christmas Day, but it’s also been relaxing and quiet.

I was lucky. For many, the holidays are a hectic and stressful time. Perhaps the days between Christmas and Epiphany can be a chance for us to take a deep breath.

After a days of sun and reading, I’m feeling ready to think about the kind of impact I’d like to make with my life in the next year. Do I want to try and write a book or start a new project? Who do I want to speak to? Who and how do I want to help? What should I do this year, and this month, and this week to accomplish these things?

I recently came across this quote by Howard Thurmon:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

Most of us have been preparing for Christmas for the past month or so: purchasing presents, preparing liturgies, writing sermons, making sure the finances are in order and pledges have been paid. This relatively quiet moment after Christmas Day can be a time for us to make our communal resolutions and look forward, to think about the kind of church and community we would like to be. If we are still busy, we should still make time for silence and reflection. These times are opportunities for us to examine our lives and think broadly about the year ahead (rather than just preparing for the next liturgy). What do we hope to accomplish in the next year?

These goals can be general, but some should also be specific. It’s easy for churches to coast, to keep doing what it’s been doing for decades. But now, as Thurmon reminds us, after weeks of focusing on our liturgies and families, it’s time to look out, to look up, to think big and specifically. Who do we want to be? What can we do to change the world?