Rector's Thoughts and Reflections

April 20, 2005

What is really important?

On the rugged northwest coast of Scotland a small community spoke among themselves after witnessing ship after ship being destroyed and countless lives lost at sea near their village. What could they do to help? One villager, who realized the sea was very much a part of their lives, suggested that they form rescue teams with a system by which villagers would scan the sea in stormy weather, to be on the lookout for ships in distress. Teams were formed, training was enthusiastic; rescue boats were built and older members of the community organized themselves at various places along the rugged coast as lookouts. And in the first few years members of this village were credited with saving the lives of many sailors. From the oldest member to the youngest in the village, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment; it brought them together with a collective sense of purpose. Many in the village, on dark and stormy days and nights, risked their own lives for the sake of strangers. Forgetting their own importance and risking their lives, the village didn't speak in terms of bravery but found great joy in the lives they saved. They asked nothing of the world nor sought fame for their actions; saving lives brought a great deal of collective and personal satisfaction.

As the years went by there was the suggestion, again by a villager, that what was needed was a boathouse to protect the rescue boats. Built near the shore for quick response, the boathouse was substantial and beautiful. A room was added for the community to gather for meetings and in time the boats were pushed closer together to make room for tables and chairs.

In time the boathouse became not only a boathouse but also a place for the community to gather. Years and years later, there came a time when the village wrestled with the idea of removing some rescue boats to accommodate the needs of the village. The lookouts for stormy weather were more difficult to recruit, rescues were more infrequent and it was noted that in the past, rescues in stormy weather were inherently dangerous.

Just last year, not one person in the village could remember why the rescue boats were in the boathouse. Children played in them, but the boats hadn't been used in years.

This morning I spoke with the Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb, and I was impressed with a point he made to me - that once "saved", the Church is forever in the "business" of saving lives through Jesus Christ. That whatever language we use to describe our coming together in the name of Jesus Christ, we are fundamentally about restoring and saving lives.

That is not language I often use, nor is it language that has formed me as a Christian, but Bishop Lipscomb's statement is nevertheless true. There is a fundamental reason why there is an Episcopal Church, among many churches, at the north end of Hilton Head Island. Christ is the reason. What we do with that fundamental truth is what we have been working on for almost 20 years. It is our vision about our relationship with Christ, as a community, that continues to define who we are and why we do what we do in the name of Christ.

Obviously, that Scottish village lost sight of why they needed lookouts, a boathouse and even rescue boats. As it turned out, the storms in the winter came every year, and so did ships in distress, and sailors who needed rescuing. At one time it was a great idea for a group of people to come together and risk their lives for others in peril. In risking their lives, they gained everything; their lives were fundamentally blessed by their actions. How do you keep that vision alive?

A prayer in support of our vision for this parish....O gracious God, we give you grateful thanks for our ability to see with the eyes of faith, to dream with hearts that embrace the future, to live together in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom to know that all things are sustained by your inexhaustible grace. As you claim this parish as your own, give us the wisdom to see your hand at work in the world about us, and may your hand be ever present through the lives of those who gather here, in the name of Christ. AMEN.

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Rector's Thoughts and Reflections