“Paint the Steeple”: On Becoming a Daymark Church ~ Matthew 5:14-16 (Annual Meeting Charge)

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." ~ Matthew 5:14-16 

On my Sabbatical, I got to spend some time just off the coast of western France on a small island called the Île de Ré. There, I encountered a church that has captured my imagination and has been a source of my prayer for us at Trinity (you have a picture of the church at your table). The church is called Saint-Etienne, a Gothic church from the twelfth century, that has a black-and-white bell tower that was added in the fifteenth century to serve as a daymark for sailors. A “daymark” is navigational beacon that is distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight.  What a lighthouse does in the dark, in other words, a daymark does in the light.

My prayer has been that we would be a “daymark” for the city of Salem - a navigational beacon for the Gospel which serves to reflect the love of Jesus to others. But friends, to do that, we’ve got to paint the steeple! It’s of no use claiming to be a “daymark” if you aren’t visible. So how do we paint the steeple? Three quick things that I sense are important:

1.     To paint the steeple, we must continue to be a welcoming presence by inviting people to join us on our Gospel adventure of being grounded in Jesus, freed by Scripture, formed as family, inspired by curiosity, called to solidarity, better together. And that means that we need to expand our welcome by actively inviting others? I’m not asking you to go door-to-door. I’m asking you where you’re at to share a loving invitation to friends and family who are lonely and searching for a God who loves them and a community to belong to. I’m asking you to consider the many people who remain adrift, hungry for spiritual nourishment, who need visible good news of a good God who died and rose again for them. How many of you are here because someone personally invited you? How many of you have faith because someone shared theirs? Take a moment to pray about someone who you could invite.

2.     To paint the steeple, we must continue to support Trinity financially and responsibly. I’m not asking for a dollar amount. That’s a personal discussion between God and you. I’m asking for responsibility for the mission, whatever that dollar amount is. To paint the steeple, is to move toward 100% giving as a congregation. That each person who calls Trinity home would prayerfully give whatever they determine (whatever they determine!) in money, time, and talents, so that we can be the navigational guide to Jesus that God calls us to be. And if money is tight, then help us pick up a paintbrush, volunteer, so that we can paint with all the visible colors necessary so that people see us across Salem. Join a ministry team, get fired up and start your own (Mark Rodriguez), do something, anything, whatever you can with what little you have. Prayerfully consider how you might give of yourself so that we can continue. We’ve got some big vision and steep cost this coming year and I’m excited by the challenge because I believe in what we’re doing. Do you?

3.     To paint the steeple, we must continue to become a community of prayer. One of the interesting elements of this past year that has stuck out to me is the way in which the Holy Spirit is drawing us toward prayer in greater ways – we started a prayer service, praying Scripture, before every worship service. We have prayer buddies so that each child in our program has a relationship with an adult who is actively praying for them. For the first time our Youth Group spent every week praying for the kids at Community Corner and Cliff continued his Prayer Buddies as well. We offer a Centering Prayer group that meets every Wednesday to practice silent, attentive prayer to God. I believe that prayer will not only transform us so that we can be a daymark community. I truly believe that by surrendering ourselves in prayer to the Holy Spirit we will gain a greater awareness of that one who is our daymark - Jesus. So more than merely committing to being an actively welcoming presence, more than committing to being a responsible giver, I want to invite you to commit to praying for the work of the kingdom in this place grounded in Jesus – the light of the world. Amen.