I have based the sermon today on a book called Churchworks: a Well-Body Book for Congregations written by Anne Heller, a Unitarian Universalist minister. In it, Reverend Heller uses the human body as a metaphor to describe different aspects of church life: the heart nurtures the caring for others; the hands are the social action we do; the circulatory system is the programs that help us to grow personally and spiritually; and so on.

         This metaphor must have been adopted from a famous portion of a letter by Paul of Tarsus to the Corinthian people in the early Christian church. I thought you might like to hear it, even though I have adapted and interpreted it for our congregation.

Reading: I Corinthians 12:12-31

         (Note: The original text is adapted and interpreted in brackets [like this])

Just as the body is one and has many members [so we are one in the Spirit though we are mightily diverse]. The body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? [It is no accident that we are a body, working and being together to make up this church. We have special work to accomplish together.] The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, [we all have need of one another though some of us have great talents and gifts and some have lesser talents and gifts. Still all talents and gifts are necessary. We need one another.]

Sermon

         We have been singing of and talking about bodies. Ann Heller said, "Imagine the finest human body you can-perhaps a world-class athlete, someone at your local gym, a friend. What makes those bodies strong, healthy, and beautiful? The answer is likely a combination of exercise, relaxation, nutritious food, engagement in life, the love and support of friends and family…[and so much more].

         Isn't it likely that a "well" congregation knows how to join in the satisfactions of shared work; to relax, worship, and meditate or pray together; to be stimulated, supported, and challenged to personal [and spiritual] growth…to be well fed by the time, talent, and treasure of its members? However… to be human is to be imperfect…." (Heller, p.9) Just like an athlete must work hard to maintain athletic health, he or she always encounters struggles in his or her journey.

         In recent years, we have been using the term "shared ministry" to encourage us to view the work we do in our church as a ministry that we do together. "The word ministry stems from the Latin "ministrare," which means to serve." (Heller, p. 111) Though you have called me to be your professional minister, our Board of Governors, the members of the staff, and all members and friends of the congregation are, or can consider themselves to be, lay-ministers who serve. The people who serve on the Caring Committee are doing a pastoral lay ministry. But so are the people who serve on the Fellowship Committee, which is the one that on Sunday sets out the snacks and the coffee and washes up afterwards in the kitchen when all others have gone home; if there were more hands to help, they would go home earlier. Many churches call this Committee, the Hospitality Committee.

         Let me first tell you about this Committee, this hospitality ministry because it is currently hardly a committee. A committee requires a chair, has meetings to plan, and has a mission. No one has claimed to be the chair. It is a tiny group of people who are giving of their time week after week to do this work, primarily because they have not found anyone who will do it in their stead. The long-time leader, Ellie Johanson, has done it for more than twenty years! And in January, she will retire from it! This leaves the faithful Bernadette and Catherine who have done it for some years. If many people signed up to do two-week stints once or twice a year to help with snacks and coffee cleanup after the service, no one would be stuck with one duty for many years. Instead, we would rotate it and spread out the work.

         Another group that always needs people on a rotating basis is the Greeters (formerly called ushers). They are the four people who greeted you, handed you an Order of Service, and managed the offering. They sign up to do this for one or two weeks.

         We try not to ask people to be on a Committee who have been members for less than a year. If you are new to our church and would like to help, these groups are two very good ways to help since the duties are light and you could get to know people as you do it.

         Let us roll back time almost a century and have a look at the Committees who served then. We can do this because back then, there was a Committee information card, published each year like this from 1910. [I held up the card]. Judging from the tiny writing on this card, I think they must have had very good eyesight in those days! These were the committees: Finance Committee, Pastoral Committee, Benevolent Action Committee, Music Committee, Hospitality Committee, House Committee, Sittings Committee (that ushered you to the pew you paid rent for!), and Ushers. [Dear Reader, I then help up an equally tiny document and said,] These are the Bylaws of 1902. They specify that the "Hospitality Committee…shall take such action as may assure a hearty welcome to all." Clearly, people took pride in being on a Committee or at least felt it necessary to serve. Perhaps they even thought of it as a ministry.

         How would it sound-the Music Ministry, the Hospitality Ministry, the Usher Ministry or the Benevolent Action Ministry? Although I don't think they called them ministries I think they served as if they were ministries. Many churches today do call their committees "ministries." As we generate or reclaim a religious language, perhaps we might consider calling our Committees ministries because they do serve the church, one another, and the community at large.

         Until the 1960's, we know that the ushers (who we are now calling greeters) wore silk gloves and these gloves are still in one of those back cabinets at the back of the church. The ushers of long ago no doubt took great pride in what they did-not that we want to restore the silk gloves!

         Let us continue the metaphor of the body to stand for the church. Anne Heller calls the Membership Committee, the "Reproductive System." Our Membership Committee does a great job sending cards to visitors, holding Orientation sessions, friendship breakfasts, sending cards to visitors, and greeting people at coffee hour.

         Heller calls the Social Action Committee, the "hands of the body" of the church, the hands that reach out to help others. We have a very dedicated group of people on this committee, but they would like more hands to brainstorm, plan, and carry out projects, even if people are able only to contribute now and again.

         There are many other committees in this church, including a Men's Fellowship that does marvelous work and a Women's Alliance that had a special service a few weeks ago. Today we will have a Committee Fair; each of our groups and committees has an information table to let you know what it is all about. If you are interested in the Committee, you can sign up on one sheet. If you prefer to help the committee for special events, you can sign up on another sheet.

         Newcomers! If you are a new member or visitor, we hope you will just come and get to know what we're all about. And, by the way, we have a visitor orientation session, Part II, that anyone can attend on December 6th, after the service and you can sign up for that at the Membership Committee table (called the Welcome Center). If you do want to get involved, then do sign up to be a greeter or as part of the Fellowship Committee to help with coffee and snacks to assure the hearty welcome of all.

         Also, for long-time members and newcomers, we have a small group ministry of people who meet regularly twice a month on three evenings and on Wednesday during the day to discuss religiously interesting topics. This is a great way to get to know six to ten people very quickly. A Small Group table is set up explaining all about it, so do sign up, even if you just want to visit to see what it is like. Or talk to me about it.

         I hope all the committees and groups with displays have put out two sheets for people to signup: one for interest in Committee Membership and another to help the Committee now and again. You don't have to be a member of this church to join most of our committees.

         We are hoping that the word ministry will change our perception of what we do here. All our groups and committees have an aspect of service or ministry to them. When more hands are serving together in our church, we will simply be stronger as a community. Your name on one of our committee information sheets will help our nominating committee fill open slots of people rotating off the committee. Most committee members serve for three years.

         With your help, we will become stronger and better than ever before, individually and collectively. May we move ahead in one strong body.