MOVING OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES

Dear Friends in Christ:

Several years ago, when I was on the staff of Trinity Church in Buffalo, I became involved with the formation of VOICE-Buffalo, a congregation based community organizing effort. In the spring of 1997, members of VOICE had an appointment to meet with the Mayor and present to him a list of problem properties in their neighborhood. The group included a number of clergy, but when they got into the Mayor’s office, it wasn’t one of the clergy who spoke for the group, but a young schoolteacher. Some months later, in reflecting on that experience, the schoolteacher said that at that meeting she was way out of her comfort zone.

I believe that Lent provides each of us with opportunities to move out of our comfort zones, whether through the trying out of a spiritual discipline that is new to us, or through taking on some new work of ministry. Perhaps you've never made Morning or Evening Prayer part of our regular routine. Lent could be a good time to try this spiritual discipline. Perhaps you've never made a sacramental confession. Lent might be a good time to do that, keeping in mind the traditional Anglican position on confession: "All may. None must. Some should." Perhaps we've never taken part in a Quiet Day. Our Lenten Quiet Day on March 27 with Fr. John Paul Boyer could be just the thing for you. Perhaps you've never thought of helping out at the South Buffalo Community Table, or at FISH of East Aurora, or with the Interfaith Hospitality Network, or at the Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center. Lent might be a good time to explore getting involved in one of these ministries in the community. Or, and here most Episcopalians are way out of their comfort zones, perhaps you've never thought of inviting a neighbor or friend to church. Perhaps Lent would be just the right time for you to share your experience of worship in this community of faith with someone you know and care about.

Responding to any of these - and many other - opportunities to grow in faith and in service to others will take us out of our comfort zones. As we try out new ways of praying, we may well  discover things about ourselves that we had not seen before and experience new depths to God's love for us. As we engage in new ministries, we will probably meet people and situations that challenge us to change and to grow. The journey of faith to which God has called us often leads us into unfamiliar territory, but God’s promise to us is that we don’t have to make that journey alone. We make it together as a community of faith, depending upon one another for support, knowing that the gifts which we will need for the journey are not given only to our leaders, but to all of us. And God’s promise is not only the promise of community, but the promise that God will be with us always.

As we are invited on Ash Wednesday "to the observance of a holy Lent,"  may we throughout Lent respond to God's call to move out of our comfort zones.

Your brother and priest,
Daniel+