Dear Friends,

During the time that I served as rector of a church in the 1980’s, we opened a soup kitchen there. This became for us our primary outreach to that community in the name of Jesus Christ. Several years after the soup kitchen ministry began there, I encountered a homeless person downtown. After we had talked for a few minutes, he asked a rather obvious question of someone wearing a clerical collar: “What church do you attend?” In response, I pointed to the Episcopal Church several blocks away. His next comment is the point of this story: “Oh, that’s the place that feeds people.”

Now, I almost responded with some sort of correction like, “Yes, but we also …” However, I was given the grace and good sense to stop after affirming what he said. Many times since then, I have thought that churches often are known by much less complimentary descriptions! “The place that feeds people” was accurate, and – thanks be to God – it corresponded to a biblical imperative.

I have told that story to several vestries and mission councils recently. My intention in doing so is to encourage clarity in the identification of a ministry of outreach in every congregation. If a church does one thing well in Jesus’ name, then our Lord and his people are far better served than if we attempt to do many things and discover that our resources are too stretched and our witness, diluted. As was said to me long ago – and has convicted me often since – “Overextended means under committed.”

I want to change the subject of this article now, recognizing that I may be disregarding my own advice and hoping that my message will not be diluted in the process! Nevertheless, I feel the need to point out three groups that have become significant for me and which deserve the attention and the prayers of our diocese.

First, our diocesan Episcopal Church Women have hosted two meetings that I have had the pleasure of attending. The ECW Convention at DuBose Conference Center, Sewanee, last spring brought together churchwomen from all around the state. Then, at St. John’s Cathedral in mid-September, our ECW got together for workshops, worship, and fun. I am always grateful to our churchwomen for their hospitality and their witness to the centrality of mission in the life of our Church.

Secondly, the annual Laymen’s Conference – held on the last weekend of August, also at DuBose – had been given quite a buildup in my presence. I must say, however, that I was impressed and pleased by this gathering of nearly five hundred laymen from all over Tennessee. The churches in East Tennessee were quite unevenly represented – some with many participants and others with none at all. If you are an Episcopal layman, however, I call your attention to this annual opportunity for Christian fellowship and fun, and further, I encourage you to attend.

Finally, two diocesan churches – St. Columba’s, Bristol, and St. Thomas’, Elizabethton – have embarked on a very important journey together. These churches are in the process of searching for a clergyperson to serve both congregations. This kind of pooling of resources provides a wonderful example of good stewardship for all of us. None of us knows what future opportunities for cooperation lie ahead on the journey for these churches. At this time, however, I want to say how grateful I am to St. Columba’s and to St. Thomas’ for their good work thus far, and I commend their efforts to your prayers.

Faithfully yours,