A Letter to the next generation of Christian teachers

The Rev. Darren Steadman wrote this letter after the example of the Epistles and as part of his sermon on October 6, 2019. Read the letter below and click here to hear the sermon in its entirety.

Rev. Darren here, for the sake of our Lord Jesus’ great hope of unity and peace,

To Christian kids of all ages who are intrigued by God and the stories of Jesus,

I pray that you discover God’s love and peace within your own heart like a storybook treasure. Then, the even greater adventure, may those discoveries inspire you to seek God’s goodness in everyone else.

I am grateful to God for you, for you are a precious gift to the world, whoever and wherever you are. This might sound disingenuous, but I mean it, because God makes all living things, and makes all those things special and useful and capable of kingdom-building.

I believe that there must be some good people in your family tree, and that you have inherited some amount of goodness that is begging to be brought forth. This goodness in your heart calls out to you at times, to speak kindly, do good deeds, and take care of yourself, doesn’t it!?! I pray that you listen to that voice, and give it a sacred name, and take care of it like a beloved pet, because it is a precious treasure that is alive, and you are its caretaker.

I also know it's hard to listen to the voice of goodness from within, because there are so many noises all around, and many of them don’t call upon your inner goodness.

Much of that noise calls out your inner selfishness, and it tempts you. Temptations of selfishness are normal now, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I wish I had done more in my day to silence that noise that torments you, and your generation.

But, now knowing this, you may also know the contrary to the noise. You may know the peace that is available when you tune out the noise, and you can always choose to tune it out. You are not obligated in any way to the voices of temptation. Be obligated to the goodness within you, and be grateful to be alive! Your creator gave you life, and that very same creator lives within you. Take care of your inner goodness, because that is the presence of God.

This is not normal, which is why we have another word for it. Tuning out the constant noise of temptation, and listening to the voice of your creator from within, behaving in a way that is unselfish, and using your words to forgive, and to tell others about all of this goodness - it’s not normal, so we call it by another name: HOLY.

You have the choice to BE HOLY, to say holy things, to behave in the wildly-counter-cultural manner that makes you stand out like a sore thumb. You can BE HOLY, and when you make this good choice, I’ll warn you, people will be scared of you. It’s not normal, to BE HOLY. People will be scared, that they have missed out on something good all this time, and changing is hard. People will be scared that they too have this choice, to behave in a way that stands out, when just being normal is the easiest way. It’s so tempting to just be normal and fit in, but remember: NORMAL is not always GOOD!

Choose GOODness, and you are choosing GOD-liness. You are not obligated to Normal, but I pray that you are obligated to GOOD, to the creator who gave you the precious gift of life and all of your choices and abilities, which we call GOD. Choose GOD, above all else, who created you and every living thing, who came to earth in Jesus, who sacrificed everything possible, to show us how to forgive. Jesus lived the HOLY life, and began making a NEW NORMAL. That NEW NORMAL is still under construction, and now - you have the tools to keep building it.

Would God give you this GOODNESS without trusting you to use it properly? NO! God not only gives you the tools to BUILD the NEW NORMAL, but you also have God’s confidence! God trusts you! God trusts you to use your words and your voice, to use your brain and your resources to give generously to those in need. To give your time and energy, to sing songs of beauty and prayers of thanksgiving, telling the world that GOD IS GOOD!

You can tell the world: “There is a NEW NORMAL under construction, and I am here to BUILD IT! JESUS came to set me free from shame, and forgive me when I choose poorly. Jesus Loves me, even when I succumb to temptation, and forgives me! AND! Jesus Loves and Forgives YOU!   

Love and Forgiveness, THAT is the NEW NORMAL.

You have the tools, Christian teacher. And you have GOD’s voice within you, calling you every day. GOD is SO FAITHFUL in that way - every day you have the CHOICE, the TOOLS, and the CALL to goodness. These are God’s most precious gifts to the world, so treasure these most precious gifts.

For this reason you were made, Christian teacher. God be with you, as you continue this mission of Jesus, the mission to bring UNITY to the world, and PEACE in your own heart, and build a new kingdom, where FORGIVENESS and LOVE are the NEW NORMAL.

AMEN


Click here to listen to the full sermon

Thank you for supporting our Haiti missions!

Christ Church Episcopal has a long-standing partnership with our brothers and sisters in Haiti. After the devastating earthquake in 2010, we answered the call to serve and so began a long and beautiful relationship with St. Marc Episcopal Church and the people of the town of Lilevois.

We've sent mission teams, provided financial support, offered them up in continuous prayer, sponsored village-wide VBS, and even hosted their leaders here in Glen Allen. 

Our most recent mission trip renewed our special relationships and inspired new ways to deepen our union and support our brothers and sisters in Haiti in ways that serve them best. 

Thanks to your faithful support, this year alone, funds from our Missions & Outreach ministries and the 2018 benefit concert were used... 

• To help Haitians build a roof so the congregation at St Marc’s can worship more comfortably and the students can play and learn in the shade.
• To fund 24 midwives for a year, educating moms on nutrition, childbirth and healthy babies.
• To help pay teacher salaries so children can learn and grow into contributing members of their community.
• To help the congregation celebrate their accomplishments in worship and fellowship at the Feast of St. Marc’s. 

Another mission trip is being planned for 2020. Prayerfully consider how you can serve. We invite you to keep up with the story by joining the Haiti Partnership Interest Group in Realm, our online community, or by contacting lay leader Penny Sellers.

Thriving Communities Start with Full Plates

Summer can be a time when food banks struggle. Donations often drop off sharply, due to the hot weather decreasing interest in collecting food, people being away on vacation, and other issues. Yet, this is a time of year when need often rises -- children are out of school, away from the assurance that they'll receive a hot, nutritious breakfast and lunch -- older people are struggling to keep up with energy bills -- and more.

That's why our missions and outreach ministries have prioritized a summer food drive over the past few summers to benefit our local FeedMore. The last food drive just concluded this weekend, and guess how many pounds of food you collected, Christ Church? Go ahead -- guess!

Over 1,000 pounds of food.

That's right -- your generosity means our neighbors will be served through programs like the Kid's Cafe, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

"I am in awe of God’s Grace moving through CCE," says lay leader Mary Gravely, who organized the drive. Thank you for answering to call to be the heart and hands of Jesus. Way to BE the church!

VBS Week was Out of this World!

BY REV. DARREN STEADMAN

It’s dark in outer space. So when we walked into the CCE Worship building this week, and the first things we saw are the round, red planet Mars, and twinkling stars against black backgrounds, we knew we were somewhere else. We had left planet Earth behind, and our mission had begun … To Mars and Beyond!

That was the theme for this year’s CCE Vacation Bible School: To Mars and Beyond! From Tuesday until Friday, we sent over 70 kids on missions each day to collect Hope, Faith, Thankfulness and Kindness to help fuel the Starship Galaxion. The kids … excuse me, the Voyagers learned biblical stories that illustrated our daily mission, they conducted scientific experiments, created works of art and played games outside, all to help generate and collect the required Elements of the Day: Faith, Kindness, Thankfulness, or Hope.

From my perspective, I saw dozens of adult volunteer leaders stooping down to help the little ones with their projects, and I saw our amazing teenagers answering lots of questions, and shepherding their groups from station to station. I saw the Voyagers dancing along with our VBS songs, projected onto screens in our space station. I saw wide-eyed wonder on tiny faces as I, the Mission Commander, and my sidekick-robot-puppet-friend jump-started everyone’s excitement each morning.

Vacation Bible School is no vacation for the grown-ups, at least not in terms of physical energy reserves. Every minute is filled with lesson-preparation, sorting supplies, snack-distribution, mess-cleaning and non-stop children’s mentorship. By noon, all the volunteers have spent a full day’s supply of energy.

But, energy exchange works differently in outer space. Just like the missions we charged the Voyagers with, the VBS adult and teen leaders were called to generate and collect Faith, Kindness, Thankfulness and Hope. And when the kids learn something new about Jesus’ story, and try out the daily missions of Kindness, Thankfulness, etc., us leaders absorbed just as much of that energy, if not much more. Thank you all: volunteer leaders, adult and teen, and the Pelkey family for coordinating and delivering an Out-of-this-World experience!

The end of VBS week is exciting and exhausting, but it is also exhilarating. Dozens of kids have new stories swimming around in their dreams and in their hearts. Faith and Hope are unlimited resources that we can share abundantly, yet never deplete. Kindness and Thankfulness fuel the giver just as much as the receiver. And, we all now know the Vector Verse by heart: God “is able to do far beyond what we can ask or imagine by the power of his love at work within us!” (Eph. 3:20)

God is at work within us when we spend our energy resources to the maximum, yet afterward, we have considerably more Hope, Thankfulness, Kindness and Faith than we did to begin with. Glory to God! That type of energy exchange is enough to take us … to Mars and Beyond!!

When Giving becomes a 2-way Street

On any given day at Christ Church Episcopal, the campus is busy with activity -- people of all ages coming and going for the mother's support group, to play on the playground, for Scout meetings, to participate in 12-step recovery groups, to study the Bible together, enjoy a fellowship lunch, rehearse for music performances, and much more.

One group that has used our campus for many years is the Gentle Pursuits of Richmond Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America. The EGA is dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of needle arts. And if you don't think that sounds fun, check out one of their guiding quotes: "because a world without needle art wold be pointless." Ha!

The Gentle Pursuits group gathers for several hours every month in our Education Building, working on their art, mastering their techniques, and enjoying the company of each other. And as we've discovered is often the case, when we open our doors to community groups, they give as much to us as we give to them. The Gentle Pursuits group recently gifted Christ Church with beautiful handmade bookmarks to give to children in our ministry. The photo doesn't quite do their handiwork justice; they are lovely.

We give gratitude to this community group for sharing love with us, so that we can share it with others. And we give gratitude to the people of Christ Church for being a congregation that opens its campus to our community in such meaningful ways.

Want to learn more about the Gentle Pursuits? All are welcome to their gatherings! CLICK HERE

Making it through those spiritual "growth spurts"

BY LINDA WALTON

It is frequently said that God uses trials to teach and to grow you into the person He wants you to be. But I have to say, I hate these ‘growth spurts’. Fortunately, I had two Christ Church teachers with me as my latest trial unfolded.

While attending a stewardship conference in Asheville, my car suffered a ‘hit and run’. The calming influence of two Christ Church friends, plus a good cry, saw me through the ‘acceptance’ phase! From the very beginning, I was coached to look for the good in all of this. Truly, working through acceptance and the mere insurance requirements with a positive outlook was far better than anticipating the worst. Here are a few examples:
  
Negative thinking: “Oh dear, my insurance rates will increase.”

The good news: “A hit and run is covered by uninsured motorist features and will not affect your rate."

Or this...

Negative thinking: “I have another expense because I think I have a big deductible."

The good news: “Your deductible is lowered because you fall under the uninsured motorist’ category."

From the very beginning, I was encouraged to see the good that was possible. And I once again experienced how our church community lives into its strategic priority to nurture spiritual formation: We will care deeply for others – practicing the compassion of Jesus wherever we find ourselves, through pastoral care and satisfying basic survival needs.

The car will be fixed, insurance will pay, and life will go on. And I have had a “growth spurt."

Sunshine and Success: Women Build 2019

BY JANE EMRICK

A fine morning rain did not deter the efforts of a dozen CCE women, who showed up at Habitat for Humanity Women Build project in North Chesterfield on June 1st. We met with Bill, the site manager, who explained all things safety and showed us what a gecko was ( and where to point the nail gun)

By 8:30 am, the rain had stopped, and we had out measuring tape, safety glasses, saws, levels, and hammers, and began to work.

By mid-morning I would say that all volunteers were experts with nail gun, siding, climbing up and down scaffolding, in addition to the aforementioned levels and hammers!

We spoke with love about Shaniqua, who owns this house, and wished her and her child well living in it.

Overall, the day felt like sunshine and success. Thanks to Bill and the other experienced worker volunteers, plus two interns who showed us the ropes. Progress was made on the residence and we declare Women Build a great success.

>CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS<

Giving Jesus a Hug

As little Abbie's grandmother was bringing her to enjoy an afternoon on our playground, Abbie asked if she could "give Jesus a hug." Abbie refers to all crosses as "Jesus," and just couldn't pass up an opportunity to show her love!

"...Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.' ” - Matthew 19:14

Sweet Success!

Each year, Christ Church sponsors an ice cream social and book fair at our partner school, George Mason Elementary. Volunteers are reporting that last Friday's celebration was the best one yet! There was a palpable sense of hope in the air among students and staff and one long-time volunteer remarked, "the school looked and felt the best it has in a long time." We know our dear friends at GMES are excited about breaking ground on a much-need new school. Please continue to keep this process in your prayers!

The children enjoyed ice cream sundaes with all the toppings and each student was given a bag of books to take home for summer reading pleasure. The volunteers would like to share a big THANK YOU to the Christ Church community. Your donations, support, and prayers make this special day possible. Click through the slideshow below to see photos.