The Body of Christ: the Church

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING YESTERDAY’S HISTORIC VISIT OF THE PRESIDING BISHOP TO ST. AUGUSTINE’S A BLESSED EVENT! From the Bishops' chairs to the food, from the music to the flowers, from the service program to all of those who participated in the liturgy and the overall spirit of welcome, it was indeed a blessed event. Bishop Doyle conveyed to me that St. Augustine’s has a special place in his heart. The Presiding Bishop was very impressed how a relatively small community could make such a strong impact; it is a testament to the faith of the people that make up St. Augustine’s. Both Bishops stayed until the very end and left only after everyone (except Carol Freeman and the Boys & Girls’ Club who were cleaning up).

And St. Augustine’s cannot let anyone go away hungry. The Presiding Bishop had in her hand a container of food: shrimp and fruit! She welcomed it as she was not able to eat during the reception since she wanted to visit with as many people as she could during her visit.

As we were standing at the door by the sacristy getting ready to load up their luggage, both Bishops and their spouses thanked me and wanted me to convey to everyone at St. Augustine’s their thanks for the wonderful liturgy and reception, for being a blessing in their lives, and most especially to the Church, and not just the Church in Galveston or in the Diocese of Texas, but to the entire Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion, to the greater Church, the Church of God where ever it is.

Bishop Doyle posted the Presiding Bishop’s sermon given at St. Augustine’s yesterday on his blog spot. Here it is:

http://texasbishop.blogspot.com/2011/01/episcopal-presiding-bishop-guest-post.html

In view of the yesterday’s visit and our reflection on it today, the Epistle to the Ephesians which is appointed for today’s Daily Office is especially meaningful in light of the thanks the Bishops wanted me to convey to everyone:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’ … The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Eph. 4: 4-16).

Present yesterday were some 200 laity, a deacon, 6 priests and 2 bishops: a body of diversity, the Body of Christ celebrating the gifts and the work each of us does in Building the Kingdom of God in love. And the entire communion of Saints, those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, St. Augustine, his mother Monica, Martin Luther King, Jr., all of those who were members of St. Augustine’s for the 127 years prior to yesterday, all singing before the throne of God joining with us as we lifted our voices yesterday. Now that is Church, and what a gift it is! Amen.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550