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A Place to Serve
The beautiful ministry of showing up for one another
One of the things I love most about St. Mary’s is how often the Gospel comes to life in the simplest of ways. Someone notices an empty pew and reaches out to a familiar face. A parishioner quietly checks on a neighbor who has been ill. Someone sets another place at the table, offers a ride, prepares the altar, or stays a few minutes longer because another person needs someone to listen.
These moments seldom make headlines. They rarely receive applause. Yet, they are among the holiest things we do.
As we continue reflecting on our stewardship theme, Plenty Good Room, I have been thinking about what it means to make room for others through service. Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated that love finds its fullest expression when it becomes an action. He washed feet, fed hungry people, touched those whom society pushed aside, and offered compassion to those who had nearly given up hope.
And then he invited us to do likewise.
Here at St. Mary’s, that invitation takes many forms. It is present in the hands that prepare our worship, the voices that lift our prayers and music, the volunteers who make our gatherings possible, and the generous hearts that support ministries extending far beyond our church doors. It is also present in the quiet hospitality of our chapel, where someone searching for peace can enter and find a sacred place to rest, pray, and perhaps begin again.
Every one of these ministries tells the same story: There is room for you here, and there is room for your gifts.
Sometimes we imagine that serving the Church requires an extraordinary talent, an abundance of free time, or the ability to take on one more responsibility. Yet some of the most meaningful ministry begins with something as ordinary as paying attention. Who needs encouragement? Who has been missing? Who might feel invisible? Where is God inviting us to offer a little more kindness, courage, or compassion?
We each have something to give, and our gifts are wonderfully different. Some serve with their hands, others with their voices, their wisdom, their prayers, or their financial generosity. Some are called to lead, while others quietly sustain the life of this parish through faithful acts of love. Together, these gifts become something far greater than any one of us could accomplish alone.
Our stewardship invitation is an opportunity to remember that the Church is more than a place we attend. It is a community of people through whom God's love becomes visible in the world. Our pledges help sustain the sacred spaces, ministries, and opportunities that allow this work to flourish. Our willingness to participate breathes life into those possibilities.
As we look toward the coming year, I invite you to consider where God might be calling you to serve, in ways both large and small. Perhaps it is a familiar ministry, or perhaps the Holy Spirit is stirring something entirely new within you. Either way, your presence matters, your gifts matter, and there is a place for you in the unfolding story of St. Mary's.
After all, Plenty Good Room is more than a promise of welcome. It is an invitation to widen the circle of love until everyone has a place at the table.
And what a beautiful thing it is when we make that room together.
With love and gratitude in Christ,
Mo. Allison+
Rector, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
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