Two of the lovely banners that hang on Lancaster and Montrose Avenues (designed by one of our own regular attendees, Shushi Yoshinaga) have this invitation: “Come, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” In this year’s advancement campaign, we have been emphasizing the distinctive witness of the Church of the Good Shepherd within the local community and wider Church. There are many distinguishing characteristics of Good Shepherd, but one that stands out is its beauty—the beauty of the church building that God has given us, the beauty of worship and music, the beauty of its people, and, I would add, the beauty of the healing it offers. Beauty itself is indeed a source of healing. It sometimes seems that the world around us has become mechanical, cold, even sterile. But when you walk into the Church of the Good Shepherd, you will undoubtedly encounter beauty.
As parishioner Barry Levis will tell you (and will describe in more detail in the November 6th adult formation class), Anglo-Catholic parishes were historically established in gritty, slum areas of industrial England. The buildings and worship were meant to bring the beauty of Jesus’s good news into dark, oppressive contexts. This is not so much the geographical context of Good Shepherd, but dare I say that if we inhabit a culture decreasingly interested in beauty, we, by valuing the beauty of holiness, are living faithfully into our Anglo-Catholic identity?
During the 2023 advancement campaign, we have emphasized the need for us to rely less heavily on our parish investments. In the last quarterly statement, they were reported at below $400,000, the result of a volatile market at the present time. Drawing from the investments at a ten percent rate each year is not sustainable. We know that, which is why we have unfolded a five-year plan to reduce investment draws.
And at the same time, drawing at a ten percent rate at the current time while we build and plan for a reduction in such draws is not, in my estimation, irresponsible. It is investing in what makes Good Shepherd a powerfully distinctive witness to Jesus’s Gospel. We would not be the same parish without such glorious music and worship or without the ministries we are building and growing with God’s help. Recall that even in spite of our financial hardship, you, God’s faithful people in this parish, have committed to expanding ministry, to investing money and labor in opening a new retreat house.
In an unstable economy, with a small congregation and numerous challenges, it would have been easiest to hold still until we reduced endowment draws. But anyone involved in ministry knows that Gospel work never stands still. I admire and commend your commitment to supporting the life-changing ministry that is characteristic of this little corner of God’s kingdom.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (5:16). This is no incentive to brag. It is an encouragement to break out of insular molds that come so easily to us and to share God’s gifts with the entire world. Beauty, in and of itself, in worship and music and in the interior glory of a building like Good Shepherd’s, could very well remain insular. But the ministry that is being shaped by God with your participation is breaking outside the church walls to touch the world. Our church doors are open to all.
Here are a few examples. In keeping with the Anglo-Catholic commitment to social justice, our Social Concerns committee has been prayerfully discerning how this parish can play some small part in responding as Christians to the social injustice of our own day. Namely, this new committee, under the leadership of John Williams, has been praying about how to respond to the ever-increasing problem of gun violence in American society. This Sunday after Sung Mass, please stay for food, fellowship, and a presentation by the Social Concerns Committee.
Additionally, one of our parishioners, Jennifer Dee, who is Vice Chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), is coordinating, along with parishioner Don McCown, a series of online classes to help families manage stress and maintain emotional and physical well-being in stressful times. The final meeting will take place in our new retreat house. Learn more here.
We now have a new contemplative prayer and mindfulness group guided by Don McCown that meets in the retreat house every Wednesday at 7 p.m., with a light dinner included. This is a wonderful opportunity to meditate on ancient and sacred words in the contemplative tradition and to rest in silence, God’s first language.
I believe that the ministry to which a parish is called by God is discerned by looking at the gifts of the people in a particular community. God has given this parish incredible gifts in areas of healing, mental health care, and formation. And our new retreat house ministry is beginning to draw on these gifts for the benefit of the wider community.
The recent past of this parish has left a number of wounds, especially a drastically reduced endowment, financial challenges, and much deferred maintenance, among others. These are not small problems, and yet, our mindset is being shaped as one of abundance, not scarcity. It seems that a way for us to heal from our past wounds is to be a source of healing to others. I’m convinced that God is helping us do this. Thank you for your part in this healing process, which we are beginning to see as we become a place of warm, inviting hospitality to others who stay in our retreat house and are fed by the ministries based there.
During this advancement campaign, as we prayerfully reflect on how we are called to financially support ministry at Good Shepherd, know that your gifts of time, talent, and treasure are being used as part of God’s healing of the world, even if in small part. Your gift, no matter how small it may seem, is essential to ensuring that Good Shepherd can be around for the future to share the gift of beauty and healing with all.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle