I was speaking recently to John Brunner, our brother in Christ, as he was leading the work to move the baptismal font to its new position at the west entrance to the church. He was remarking that he often hears the phrase, “They ought to do_____________ at the church.” The blank, of course, may be filled with any number of well-meaning suggestions, some very good suggestions and others, not so good. And then came the wisdom of St. John Brunner… “You know what? They is we.”

Yup, those are some wise words. They is we. As has been said ten jillion times, the Church is not a building; it is the people of God. Our particular way of walking the Way of Jesus, that is, The Episcopal Church, recognizes four orders of the people of God: lay people, deacons, priests and bishops. Each order has a part to play in doing the work of the Kingdom of God, and our theology asserts that no order is more important than any other order. If I were, however, to pick the most important order of the four, I would choose the laity. Why? Because, while bishops, priests and deacons are charged with helping lay folk become the people God is dreaming them to be, clergy really don’t have a job without the laity.

They is we. Yes, they comprise the clergy, staff and key lay leaders of the church, but they also comprise every single person, young and old, male and female, wise and foolish. For the witness of the church to be strong and robust, each of us and all of us must take part in the work. The clergy, while they may have an important role to play in our common life, are not the paid Christians of a parish community. Key lay leaders, while they may almost always be relied upon to step up and get the job done, are not the sole representatives of a parish community.

Most of us have been physically isolated from each other for over a year. During that time and in an effort to keep parishioners safe, the clergy and key lay leaders at St. John’s assumed many ministry roles that truly belong to others, particularly other lay folk. Many of our laity at St. John’s are out of practice in the work of the Church. We are now, however, slowly but ever surely, returning to a more normal way of being church. It is time that all of us recognize and heed the clarion call that they is we.

God’s dream for God’s Church is that all play a part in walking the Way of Jesus. There are so many ways to plug into the life and ministry of the Parish Church of St. John in the Wilderness.  So, step up. Take the hand of Jesus in one of your hands and the hand of a fellow pilgrim at St. John’s in the other. Our friend, John Brunner is not always right, but in this instance, he really is… THEY IS WE.

~Father Art