“St. Andrew’s: Building God’s Kingdom . . .”

March 11, 2020 Uncategorized

In the Epistle to the Ephesians (2:19-22), we read, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being builttogether to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” In this short passage alone, the author uses three forms of “build” in his appeal to the now-Christian, formerly pagan people living in Ephesus – imploring them to remember their previous condition and reminding them to be grateful to God who brought them to their current condition.

Like the people of Ephesus, we at St. Andrew’s might need an occasional reminder that the stability of our “building” (physical and metaphorical) depends upon its foundation “with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” As we enter a second century, we stand firm in the knowledge that whatever may happen on earth, God and God’s “building” will be steadfast. Trusting in the firmness of our foundation in Christ permits us to participate in God’s kingdom-building in a multitude of ways, never doubting God’s presence in every facet of our “building.”

As the vestry developed this new mission statement, I found intriguing the various ideas communicated by the word building, especially two specific connotations, which coordinate most appropriately with our two newest SAEC teams. First, the Building Implementation Team envisions as its ultimate responsibility the careful and prayerful coordination of potential uses for our building, in the most concrete sense of the word. At the same time, the Engaging the Climb team’s mission might be appropriately summarized as one seeking to ascertain how God is inviting and including us in the powerful mission of building God’s kingdom.

Lindsey Nicolai

Vestry member