“Let your light so shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As noted in the Annual Report, the Dean’s Report is the ecclesiastical version of a State of the Union or State of the State report. I am pleased to be able to report that the over all, the health of this Cathedral Parish is strong and the state of St Mark’s Episcopal Pro Cathedral - Hastings is good, for which God is to be praised and the efforts and hard work of so many of you are to be honored. The signs of health are reflected in the report that you hold in your hands and what you have heard in the reports already presented.

I am enormously grateful for the time talent and treasure offered to the greater Glory of God, by so many of you, starting with the wardens and vestry and continuing on to everyone contributing to the many facets of our activities here at St Mark’s. Our worship is enhanced, our children taught the faith, and, thanks to the Outreach Ministry Team (who were inadvertently omitted from the written report), hungry people are fed and so much more accomplished because of what you do week after week here at St Mark’s.

The Dean’s address however falls into another category in that it is traditionally an opportunity for the priest to share with the congregation particular issues and concerns. Last year, having been at St Mark’s for less than three months, the only real issue that was brought before you was my desire to see a renewed emphasis in the area of religious education. This remains as one of the primary foci of my ministry because with every passing day as the state of the Episcopal Church becomes more and more divisive, the one thing which is so painfully evident is how little people know about their own faith.

Not long ago I was reading an essay on baseball as the national game that was written by the Civil War historian Bruce Catton. He made the point that the one element that made baseball the national game (the NFL had yet to come along and I don’t believe he was from Nebraska) was that almost everyone at some time learns to play baseball or soft ball and so we all acquire a little bit of knowledge about the game; in America of course that makes us all experts and entitles us to hold forth at great length on the subject.

It struck me that the same thing is true of religion in America, and Christianity in particular; we have all been exposed, either by going to Church or for those who have never so much as gone into the narthex, through television, radio or the internet. With the result that you have people who haven’t a shred of real knowledge about Christianity or religion, or history for that matter blaming peoples of faith for every evil under the Sun and  ignoring the evil done at the hands of godless men, like Hitler, like Stalin, like Pol Pot, like Idi Amin and the list goes on. Sadly most Americans, to include most Christians in America, appear to believe that a modicum of information makes everyone a subject matter expert, and it is just not true.

Becoming a Christian is easy, it only requires faith in Christ Jesus, however, that is where people start, not where they stay. The depth and richness of the Christian Faith and the Anglican tradition in particular is enormous. I believe that it is the obligation of the priest and pastor to teach the to the people committed to his or her charge, the Scriptures as found in the Bible, the Christian faith as defined by the early Church, and the Anglican understanding of the faith as presented in the Book of Common Prayer.

Now, admittedly this is very old hat; it is also very hard work because you end up teaching the same thing again and again. Yet, quite remarkably there is always something new that emerges from our studies; this is how we learn. The Scriptures and our faith are an endless resource.

Still, we live in a time when we are repeatedly encouraged to think outside of the box and that would be fine and is certainly a good thing to do; if only you know first what is in the box. Regrettably many Christians and many Episcopalians haven’t the first clue as to what the contents of the box might be, and then are surprised when the rest of the Anglican Communion gets upset, when we tell them that Scripture, tradition, and theology aren’t all that important.  I hope this does not sound as if I am scolding, but here at St. Mark’s, I want to make sure we each have continuing opportunities to strengthen our knowledge and to mature in faith.

All of this is by way of explaining why we have an on going Inquirers Class, and I would urge you to come and share with us as we learn more about our faith. It is why we have had Lenten and Advent studies (we will have them again in the Lenten season) and why we will soon be offering a confirmation class for some of our young people in preparation for the Bishop’s visitation.

It should be said that this is also the reason why the focus of my sermons is always either the Gospel appointed for that Sunday or one of the other Scriptures. I have never been a topical preacher, News anchors, and other talking heads in the Media do a far better of job of analyzing current events than any preachers I have ever heard. Also having gone to seminary in the late 1960’s when social action was the mantra of the day; I have become somewhat cynical about social action as the sole expression of religious purpose.

While there is certainly a demand for social responsibility inherent within the Gospel, in some instances the social component has not been seen as a response to our following of Christ but rather as an end un to itself. Far too often this notion has been based on the premise that human beings are capable of becoming perfect apart from God. I’m afraid that my overall view is that far from perfectibility, man is a damned mess and apart from God will always fail.

People have a hunger for the Gospel. Some years ago while visiting a Church in Monterey, as the priest concluded his sermon the women sitting in front of me turned to her husband and said: “I just get so tired of hearing about homosexuality and California politics…” People want to understand the Scripture, especially in time like these when the only understanding of the Bible that is being thrust before us is that of Biblical inerrancy and literalism; both of which do violence to the integrity of Scripture.

It is the fashion in preaching these days, for preachers to use the first person singular in their sermons and to use personal experience and self-disclosure as grist for the homiletical mill. However years ago the Reverend Dr. Howard Hageman, Professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, let us know in no uncertain terms that we as future preachers were not a fit subjects for sermon material, and to avoid if possible the use of the first person singular because to quote St Paul: “It is not ourselves that we proclaim but the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is advice I have very much taken to heart. The only thing of worth I have to offer to you or any congregation is the Good News of Jesus Christ.

It is the Gospel of Christ and only the Gospel of Christ that offers humankind what we truly need and what we long for, God’s love and God’s peace. At the same time the Gospel charges us with being more than our brother or sister’s keeper, we are meant to be their brother or sister; and this occurs when we live what we profess to believe. It is the Gospel that calls us to be compassionate, to be just, and to be kind to each other, because this is where the metal hits the meat or not. Certainly we are called to respond to the catastrophes that occur and which devastate the lives of people and communities, but on the daily level it is what we do one on one that makes a difference in the world; that will in fact change lives and change the world.

If I have anything approximating a vision for the Pro Cathedral Church of St Mark, it is that we fulfill the traditional role of a Cathedral Church, which is to serve God’s people and the greater community as well. The last church I served before coming here was the tiny mission church of St John’s in Bisbee, Arizona. It was and is one of the oddest churches in the Episcopal Church, but they understood one thing above all else they were to be light in their community, and they were. This is the purpose of every church, but especially for a Cathedral. Therefore we must make the most of every opportunity to reach out to this community as well as to one another, through every medium; art, music, drama, preaching events like Sermons Ala Carte, teaching, tours for civic groups and senior citizen centers, wine tasting events, what have you.

We are meant to be a place where the preaching of the Gospel and the teaching of the faith will lead people to the truth of Jesus Christ and to lives lived in response to Christ in ways that are just, compassionate and kind, because therein will be seen the Light of Christ.

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