20th Sunday after Pentecost
Psalm 111
10/14/2007
Rev. Philip A. Bouknight
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1
I find nothing more appropriate than to give thanks to God on this day and praise him for what I have seen over the past few years. I give thanks to God with my whole heart that he called me to the Virginia synod, that he led me so that my only interview would be with this parish. I give thanks that both congregations felt that God was calling my family here. You broke us in fast; having two of my first four Sundays be homecoming celebrations. I give thanks to God that you have been patient with me as I learned many of the lessons new pastors have to learn. I am still learning.
I have celebrated so many firsts with you. My first visit was to Ruth Bason’s house. My second was to her son Acourt’s. My first mistake came very early; my second Sunday as a matter of fact. Bill Gardner asked me to take communion back to Mildred, because she has having trouble walking. I knew there were two Mildred’s and both of them walked with canes. I chose the wrong Mildred. Mildred Perry informed me of that. Nadine Rutrough was the first person to address me as Pastor in a way that I knew it meant more than a title. It came after one of my visits to her home as Joe battled Cancer. I give thanks that Nadine trusted me enough to allow me to put together a different funeral service. I did not care for the one in the LBW. Her trust gave us the funeral service we have used at every funeral since. I pray that I will use it the rest of my life.
I celebrated my first Christmas and Easter with you. Taye Garcia was the first child I ever baptized. Thirteen others would follow. Taye’s sisters Jadyn and Torrea were the first children that I led through first communion. Speaking of communion, I am thankful for the immense fun that we had as an altar guild doing a taste test of various wines at Chateau Morrisette. Tara and I had our first open house that first Christmas. So many of you darkened our door and showered us unexpectedly with gifts. I will never forget that Christmas, the Mad Dog 20/20 that showed up for communion wine and a few weeks later, the paper candle holder which appeared in the place of the large host that I take and present before the congregation.
In April of that next year, I wed my first couple; Billy Lester and Anna Webb. That May on Mother’s Day; Anna Rose was in the hospital. Tara was with her. I give thanks for the laughter at St. Mark as I realized that I had left my son at Zion. I believe I turned white. I give thanks for Debbie Fullbright’s cell phone. I give thanks for Jeanie O’Neil who watched our son until my wife could return home and pick him up. I was still in worship at the time. Two of our children were born and baptized here. I give thanks to God for your witness. We will never forget that seventh of July when Zion’s cemetery was vandalized. On July tenth, we held a service of healing and talked about the need to forgive. We went out to the cemetery where you prayed for those who were affected by the tragedy. Our community and boldly prayed for the two boys that had vandalized that sacred space. We shared the peace at the cemetery gates, unable to enter, because police tape barricaded the entrance. Later you would convey your forgiveness to the older boy. You allowed me to represent you in a court of law where we showed this community the power of forgiveness. The judge did not accept our plea for leniency and he served time. I visited him in prison, taking with me your prayers and the desire for him to know God. He was baptized in prison. Praise the Lord!
I give thanks to God for your partnership with Willis United Methodist Church and your newfound partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Floyd. You are showing this community that unity in Christ matters. St. Mark displayed a tremendous sense of unity coming to consensus on the matter of weekly communion. They discussed a sensitive matter openly with all persons respecting the other. A four month trial became regular practice in March. On Christmas day, I baptized my first adult: Travis Bolt. Four other adult baptisms would follow. I give thanks to God for your work throughout the world. You have had ambassadors in El Salvador, Papua New Guinea and Malawi. Your noisy offering this year will help build a church center in Papua New Guinea. The change that you are collecting in your globes will do the same. We continue to support a missionary there.
I give thanks to God for your willingness to cancel worship so that we might provide a worship opportunity at Floyd Fest. We have no idea what fruit is being harvested from that simple offering of acceptance. I give thanks to God that his word has a greater place in your lives and in your hearts. St. Mark now has bibles in every pew. Our children receive a collection of bible stories before they enter school. They receive a bible in first grade as well. Our ninth graders begin high school with a bible that has been signed by the church’s leadership. Passages are underlined and prayers are written in the margin. One proud parent informed me that their daughter read from that Bible every night and placed it on the top of a list of items that had to go with her to college. Our children are learning to love the Lord. I give thanks to God that we send these young men and women into the world, wrapped in a quilt where you have provided squares and a member has them sewn with love. We send them out into the world wrapped in the love of Christ.
I give thanks for the wonderful sound of children singing the liturgy. Their voices soar above the congregation and have brought me to tears as I face the altar in praise. I give thanks for Vickie, our incredible parish musician, for her ministry and for her many gifts. I give thanks to God for the many people who have touched my life. I give thanks for each and every person that has trusted in me enough to come into my office asking that I walk with them through hardship. I give thanks for your witness, the care that you have given and the love that you have shared. You have embraced my family with love we could never earn. I give thanks for baskets of food placed on our doorstep and cards of thanks which appeared in our mailbox. I give thanks for the laps that have held our children and the teachers who have showed them Christ. I give thanks for days on the river and nights in your homes. There are simply too many things that I am thankful for when I think of what you have meant to me. Now, I give thanks to God for the grace you have shown me and the loving way that you have said goodbye; for the meals that were shared and the tears that were shed. I thank God for the parish that you are and the parish you are yet to become.
On this day, like the psalmist, I stand in the midst of the congregation giving thanks to God for the marvelous gift of life. We share memories of what God has done with us and through us. We would be remiss if we did not share aloud our greatest source of thanks. I give thanks that God so loved the world that he loved us so much that he gave his only Son. Now we share not only in his ministry, we share eternal life. I give thanks for forgiveness, grace and mercy; for our baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit. I give thanks that the God who has given us these collective memories is the God who will continue to work miracles among us. I give thanks to God who calls us to walk together for his names sake. We give thanks for our lives; for our new life in Christ. We give thanks for food to share and clothes to wear, for shelter and transportation, for the air we breathe and the water we drink.
When you come to think of it, there is no end to our list of thanks and how appropriate that is since we will be singing praise and thanksgiving to God throughout eternity. Give thanks to God in the company of the upright; in the congregation. Thank him for his love and the love of others in his name. If we are not thankful, then we simply do not recognize our blessings. Give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart. Make thankfulness a part of your life. Give thanks and praise the Lord.
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