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Do you remember the first time you came to this church? For some
of you it was recently, in the past year or two. For others it was as much
as ten or twenty years ago or more. What was it about the experience on
that first visit that made you want to come back? What caught your interest
or made you feel like you might want to worship God here and learn more
about this congregation and church community?
……..RESPONSES……..
In Paul’s letter to the young church in Ephesus, he encouraged the people to live by the truth and to live in love. By doing so, he promised, they would grow completely into Christ. He helped them envision what that would mean by saying that Christ is the head and the people are the "whole Body fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each individual part to work according to its function."
Though I wasn’t living in Tiburon at the time, I love to hear the stories of the early years of this congregation, of this Body of Christ. Those men and women and children who began meeting almost fifty years ago are our sisters and brothers, our fathers and mothers, our grandparents in faith. They worked together, each person playing a role as they prayerfully responded to God calling them to be a church community, a body joined together. In 1957, in a small room above an ice cream parlor on the Tiburon Boardwalk, this congregation was chartered. Each member was a joint in the body adding their own strength to make it happen: teaching children, decorating the worship room, visiting people, or helping with music. Sunday school classes were held in railroad cars and on rainy days or during high tide, one was very careful when coming to church, to step on the boards and not into the puddles. There is an old newspaper picture in the church library of Bill Bigelow, age seven or eight, climbing into a railroad car for class. Soon after the birth of the congregation, the members negotiated for this beautiful piece of property strategically located on the main drag, Tiburon Boulevard, and the congregation celebrated Easter 1961 worshipping in our Findlay Hall.
Now you might think that here in Tiburon during the past forty years, this would have been a well-heeled, comfortable, suburban, status quo, stable Marin County, relaxed congregation. Not so! Once the transition to this location was complete, our foremothers and forefathers, some of whom could be sitting near you this morning, developed church school and worship programs and immediately began reaching out to heal the world starting in this community – often tackling controversial issues. All the joints were needed to strengthen the body, "each individual part to work according to its function". As they grew into Christ who is as Paul said, "the head by whom the whole Body is fitted and joined together," members were involved in making all eight of these joints grow stronger and stronger, and they still do so today.
There were those who worked on the social advocacy joint, the right shoulder, creating low-cost housing in what is now the Hilarita, starting the Food Bank with the help of John and Bertha Cashin, counseling youth who came to San Francisco in the summer of 1968 and letting them sleep in the church building, helping with a free health clinic in Mill Valley, paving the way for the creation of a homeless shelter which is now at Hamilton, and advocating for the rights of lesbian and gay people within and outside of the church.
There were those like Karen Arnett and Lillian Verhalen who worked on the church school joint, the left shoulder, developing lesson plans each week whether there were two students or 200. Volunteer teachers were ready then, as they are today, with curriculum, supplies, snacks, and a welcoming atmosphere so all children know they are cherished and loved by God and by this community.
There were and are those who are part of the worship joint, the right elbow, recruiting music leaders, borrowing or buying instruments, making banners and decorations, donating communion sets and baptismal font, and serving on committees as Marge Wiegandt and Carl Atkinson did to hire pastors for preaching and teaching.
There were and are those who are part of the left elbow, the hospitality and caring joint meeting people in their homes, welcoming strangers to the church community, visiting them when they are sick or hospitalized, taking meals, or merely being present with people when they are grieving.
There are those who are part of the right hip joint, the mission joint, planning ways for all of us to roll up our sleeves and express our faith in action, building in Mexico or for Habitat for Humanity, taking medical care to the needy in other countries, tutoring in the Canal Area, providing vacation Bible School programs for children on Indian reservations or in refugee communities – people like the MacColl family, April Green and John Long, Erin Findlay and Nancy Walsh.
There are those who are part of the left hip joint, the adult education joint, listening carefully to others in the congregation for their interests and needs in the areas of Bible Study, as well as social and ethical issues that call for our study and discussion. Currently Sharon Barr and Evelyn Sayers, Bruce Nelson and Phil Economon, Betty Obata and Erwin Martinez are among those who are part of that left hip joint.
Critically important to the body is the right knee joint, the prayer joint that supports all of us. Many people participate in strengthening this joint individually or as members of the Westminster prayer chain. They offer prayers to God for others in our church community and in the larger world who are sick or suffering in some way. Currently, Jeanne Mellinger facilitates the Prayer Chain. That act of prayer puts us in the place of the one suffering, understanding and identifying with them in a way that opens our own mind and heart to their experience.
The body couldn’t stand without the final joint, the left knee joint, the one that keeps the building together for our worship and classes and gatherings. The current site specialist, Chuck Quick, works with the church sexton, Jesus Posada, to keep things running smoothly. There are times when they are arranging for repair of sewer lines or fixing building leaks or alarm systems. There are other times when additional space is needed such as when Jack Frost, Joe Bacheller, Erin and Chuck Findlay, and Nancy & Bob George among many others helped to make this beautiful sanctuary a reality twelve years ago. So, you see, without all these joints, the Body of Christ would not be able to do its work, would not function – and lucky for all of us I didn’t take time to tell you about all the other joints: wrists, fingers, toes, ankles, neck, and so many more – the ways people contribute their gift of time inside this building or out in the community to respond to the way we are called by God to be this church in this time in this place today.
The beautiful thing about the Body of Christ, about the church community, is that it is not a fixed entity. It is fluid. God is constantly creating something new. When Moses asked God, "What should I tell them is your name?" God responded by saying, "Tell them my name is, ‘I am who I am becoming.’" God is doing the same thing with us. We are who we are becoming. The church is like a river constantly changing as new streams flow into it. When each of us entered this congregation and as we personally became involved, the congregation changed in some way, became new. At the same time individually we changed becoming new people as part of this church here in Tiburon. During 2003, forty-two people committed to membership in this Body. We are not the same congregation that we were one year ago. We don’t know what will happen in the next three years as this church celebrates its 50th birthday and grows beyond, but we are encouraged to listen to God’s nudge for the way we are called to be part of the flow. By being involved, it is our own community and we are not merely observers or bystanders in the life of faith around us. We are called to see visions and dream dreams for God’s ministry here and now.
Which joint are you today - elbow, hip, jawbone or pinky finger, first digit? If you feel the nudge to participate in a new way, you are invited to find some area on the handout that interests you or write in your own idea. There is a multi-colored box on the narthex table where you can leave the form. This is YOUR church, young or old. Your presence and involvement are important to the rest of us and to the life of this community. We wouldn’t be the same without you. Today, member or non-member, you are invited at 11:15 to join others in Findlay Hall for a New Year’s party. There will be music from the Youth Band and the Joyful Noise Choir along with snack food with fair trade coffee and tea. We will review the Annual Reports with photos of the year 2003 as well as budget plans for 2004. Programs are planned for the children in the pre-school building. Come, meet some new friends, offer your ideas and hear about what your church is doing. Your vision and dreams are needed as this Body of Christ moves into the new year.
Let us pray…..
Copyright © 2003, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Tiburon