HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH: A NEW CHAPTER IN THE MAKING

HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH: 

A NEW CHAPTER IN THE MAKING

The Rev. Canon Dr. Winfred B. Vergara

        Priest-in-Charge,Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

130Jerusalem Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11830, June 12, 2016.

Introduction

As this is my first official meeting with the Vestry, and my second Sunday with you all, I would first like to thank you for the honor, privilege and trust you’ve given me as I began to serve among you as priest in charge of this parish. You have just lost the Rector Emeritus, Canon Domenic Cianella in 2015 and your rector Mother Joan Grimm Frazer a couple of weeks ago and you are still in mourning. But you have welcomed me and my wife, Angie, with open arms and trusted me with the message of hope and resurrection.

My first Eucharist last Sunday was a memorable one and I cherish every moment I spent with you as your new priest, even as a part-time priest. My first sermon was well-received and many of the congregation responded to my call for volunteers to the various ministries that we need to fill. From acolytes to Lay Eucharistic Ministers, from Scripture-readers to Coffee-servers, from helping to form Episcopal Church Women to starting a social network, many responded to the call. We are in a good place. 

Let me outline a few information about Holy Trinity and suggest the way in which we move forward.

History
Like many historic churches in New York and elsewhere, Holy trinity has its golden years since its founding in September 1, 1899; its incorporation in July 27, 1954; and its admission to the Diocese of Long Island in May 17, 1955.Particularly in the 1960’s to 1990’s, Holy Trinity had grown and flourished and peaked in attendance of up to 300. Some of those I talked with remember that there were times when the church was standing room only.

The new millennium, however has taken over the gains of the church and like many mainline parishes, it has started to decline. The world has experienced and still experiences dramatic changes and often the church is unable to respond in meaningful ways to counter the advance of secularization and unable to cope with the rapid changes in this highly technological, digital and inventive age.

The last 10 years (2004-2014) for example, showed a steady decline, from an average Sunday attendance of 80 in 2004 down to 32 in 2014  (See Graph, attached), and unless we arrest this negative trend, reexamine how we do ministry and explore new and innovative ministries to serve our community, we may be in danger of decay and death.My code word for renewal that I shared last Sunday  is RED: Revival, Evangelism and Discipleship.

1. Revival is to look into our current and internal workings and asking the Holy Spirit to renew our faith. Obviously, we cannot turn back time and regain the glory of the past. What we can do is renew our community life and proclaim the message the resurrection. One of the signatures and proven ideas in my own ministry is to have a healing service prior to the Eucharist. 

God says in 1 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by My name shall humble themselves and pray…then I shall hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” Jesus’ healing ministry was done in response to human need, a platform for evangelism and a demonstration that the power of God is superior than the power of evil. We must accentuate the positive and diminish the negative.

2. Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel of salvation and calling people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It is the proclamation of the City of God breaking forth from the City of Man. It is the sharing of the faith handed down to us by the former generation and us making sense of it to our own generation and the next.

The City of Man is built from man’s pride, from man’s greed, from man’s ambition. The City of God is a city built by God’s humility, by God’s love, by God’s compassion. Evangelism is the proclamation of the confidence  that the City of Man will always die but the City of God will never die. 

As  D.T. Niles, an Asian theologian, wrote, “Evangelism is a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” We are all beggars in God sight. Our righteousness is like filthy rags. But by the grace of God, Christ has saved us and formed us into a new people. Once we were no people but now we are God’s people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of Him who called us our of darkness into His marvelous light!

Our new Presiding Bishop Michael Curry recently initiated a new “Jesus Movement” in the Episcopal Church,  which he defined as evangelism and racial reconciliation. As we renew our lives, we shall move forward to become evangelists, from recipients of faith to sharers of faith. God in Christ saved us for two reasons: one small and the other big. The small reason is that we may have eternal life and the big reason is that we may become instruments in sharing that eternal life to others. 

I know this is a novelty to many Episcopalians, but we shall learn together. One of the gifts I can share is my position in the national church as “Missioner for Asiamerican and Pacific Islanders Ministries.” I am also Director of Asiamerica Virtual Classroom and I hope to continue this ministry here in Holy Trinity by instituting a “School Of Revival Evangelism and Discipleship” (SORED). 

While the audience of SORED is beyond Holy Trinity, it will be broadcast from Holy Trinity. Let’s think of ourselves as a new “Antioch” where early missionaries like Paul and Barnabas were trained and sent to the ancient Greco-Roman world; or the new “Iona ” where  monks and missionaries were trained and sent out by St. Columba, the Abbot, all over Scotland and Ireland. 

In the past, mission is crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean and trekking the jungles of Africa or the shores of Asia and Latin America to convert the heathens to the faith. Today, our mission fields are right in our neighborhood, our next-door neighbors. All we need to do is to open our hearts in compassion, open our mouths to share our faith and invite our neighbors and open the doors of our churches to receive those whom God have placed into our doors.

3. Discipleship is the process of conversion and growth into the Christian faith. It is the main goal of revival and evangelism. The early Church father Tertullian, said that “Christians are not born but formed.” The great Commission of our Lord says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I will be with you to the ends of the world”(Matthew 28:19). 

Forming disciples for Christ is our vocation as Christian leaders in our own generation.

Conclusion:

Throughout the next three years, I hope to be among you as priest, pastor, healer and teacher. Even as very part-time priest, as I have a full-time national job, I will listen to you and walk among you, physically, spiritually and virtually. Let me conclude this remark by giving you three images. 

The first image is a vehicle that is stuck. You cannot turn-a car around when it is not moving. You have to change its battery, fill it with gas and start its engine before you can drive it around. 

The second image is that of a surf rider. You cannot ride the waves if you just remain on the beach. You have to get into the water, be willing to get wet, then wait for the waves and then surf.

The first image is God’s part, we need the Holy Spirit to revive us. The second image is our part. We need to wait, to trust and to act. Only God can make waves but when the waves rise up, let us be sure we are in the water, ready to surf and ride above the waves.

My third image is a parable: There was a story of a boy who saw a piece of land in his neighborhood. It was dirty, full of weeds and nothing of value existed. Moved by some sort of a vision, he set out to clean the land. He gathered his friends and family and together they removed the garbage, cleaned out the weeds, cultivated the land and planted flowers. In a matter of time, the place was transformed. What was once a dirty, useless piece of land, has now become a garden with bright, beautiful, fragrant roses. As the boy was awed by the fruit of their labor, a priest from the neighboring church passed by, and admiring the roses, said to the boy: “Young man, what a beautiful rose garden you and God have made.” The boy pondered for a moment and then replied, “Yes, Father; but you should have seen it when it was all left to God alone!”

My friends and family: God’s sovereignty and human response-ability must combine together to accomplish the work . May the good Lord guide us in our partnership in mission and provide for all our needs as we respond to His call. Amen.

REVIVE US, O LORD: Revival, Evangelism, Discipleship

REVIVE US, O LORD: Revival, Evangelism, Discipleship

(The Rev. Canon Dr. Winfred B. Vergara. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 130 Jerusalem Ave. Hicksville, NY. 6/5/2016. This is the Rev. Vergara’s first sermon as part-time Revivalist/Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Hicksville)

Today, I call for the revival of this Church. I have studied the history of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Hicksville, New York. Just like many other typical churches, it has experienced its golden years. It has experienced ups and downs. And like so many other declining churches of our time, it is now in need of a new revival. 

Revival begins with prayer. So I would like to introduce to you a prayer with some action; a prayer I composed and called “The Christian Tai Chi.” I invite you to join and follow what I do and say:

I am a child of God; I stand on His holy word. I breathe the Holy Spirit. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I push out negative thoughts; I take in positive thoughts. I push out sickness; I take in good health. I push out poverty; I take in prosperity. I push out hate; I take in love. I push out despair; I take in hope. I push out sadness; I take in joy. And now, I will share the Good News to my family, to my friends, to my neighbors, here and all over the world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

That is right. Revival begins with making the right choice. As people of the resurrection, we choose positive instead of negative, good instead of evil, light instead darkness, life instead of death. As people of the resurrection, we can even turn a negative into a positive.

Two days ago, Muhammad Ali died at age 74. I was a seminarian in 1975 when Ali defeated Joe Frazer in the “Thrilla in Manila,” to become the undisputed Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, for the third time. I remember the whole Philippines and the world stopped and stared at the television to see this guy who “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.” What made Ali so popular was that he combined boxing with poetry and comedy. Everybody loved Ali not only because he could box but also because he could dance and could speak in rhymes and reasons all at the same time. 

At his death, we learned more about his life. His rise from a humble beginning as Cassius Clay to become one of the most admired Mohammad Ali began when, as a child, his bicycle was stolen. He vowed to box the person who stole it but someone said to him, you must first learn how to box. So at age 12, he began his boxing career that eventually catapulted him to become the greatest athlete of all time. He also became an icon of inspiration for those who love freedom, respect for dignity, struggle against racism and bigotry and the courage to fight for what you believe.

Some years ago, I was in Hong Kong and Macau for my Sabbatical. One of the things I did was to help bless the world famous “Lord Stow Egg Tart.” Everyday in Macau, thousands of egg tarts with darkened top, are packaged and sent to various parts of the world for export. I had quite a good taste of that delicious egg tart of Macau.

The discovery of “Lord Stow Egg Tart” was accidental, or shall we say providential. Mr. Andrew Stow who was an Anglican and his wife, Eileen, a Chinese were cooking the tart and they forgot to remove it from the oven so it was burnt. Instead of throwing them away, they ate some and they tasted so good. From then on, the egg tart with the burnt top, became the icon of the best egg tart in the world.

The life of Mohammad Ali and the story of Lord Stow Egg Tart are just a couple of examples of how we can turn negative into positive. In the Bible readings for today, there are two examples of revival and reawakening. 

SCRIPTURES

In the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah, with God’s help, turned the widow’s sorrow into joy when he raised her dead child to life. In the New Testament, Jesus turned a funeral into a celebration when he raised the dead man to life.

Because of the miracle, the widow came to believe that Elijah was a true prophet of God. Because of the miracle, the whole funeral party believed in God and the news of this miracle spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. The miracle of turning negative into positive, of turning darkness into light, of turning death into life is an amazing work of God and breaks open the heart of the people to God. (1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17)

I’ll tell you something:  There was a time that I thought I can also raise the dead. It happened in one of the churches I preached and I was reading the gospel about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In order to make my point clear, I read the verse where Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb , “Lazarus, come out!” I spoke loudly at the microphone, which incidentally, was wired all over the building and I shouted, ”Lazarus, come out!” From the basement of the Church, there was a louder shout, “I’m coming out!” It was the janitor of the church and his name is Lazarus!

So as your new priest-in-charge, what is your expectation of me?  I asked that question to the vestry, and Sandy our Sr. Warden, replied “a miracle.” 

I read a book on parish revitalization and one comment says, “Parish Revitalization is one of the most difficult endeavors a priest can undertake. In fact the most common prescription is to simply close down and start a new one. It is easier to have a new baby than to raise the dead!”

Another comment says, “Revitalization is a full-time job and it takes between 4-7 years and the longer the decline, the longer the time for revitalization.”

I am a part-time priest and my contract is only for three years. How can I make it to revitalize Holy Trinity which has been in decline for many years? 

Obviously, I can’t make a miracle; I can’t raise the dead; I can’t make this Church alive again. But I know God can! All things are possible with God. Without God, there is nothing we can do; but with God, greater things we can do.

So I prayed for a vision and God showed me the color RED. I closed my eyes and I sawRED. Why RED?

First, Red is the color of love. The poet Robert Burns wrote, “My love is like a red, red rose that newly sprung in June.” Love will help revitalize this Church. Jesus says, “they will know we are Christians by your love.”

Second, Red is the color of blood, the blood of Jesus which washes away our sins and cleanses our unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus protects us, so that the angel of death, will pass over our doors and life, instead of death shall come in. 

Third, Red is the color of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, like flames of fire resting upon the apostles and empowering them for ministry. Prior to the Holy Spirit, Peter preached 3,000 sermons but converted only one, himself. But when the Holy Spirit came, Peter preached one sermon and he converted over 3,000 people.

Such is the power of RED. For the next three years, as your priest, pastor and teacher, I will help you know about the power of the color Red: love, blood and Pentecost. 

But red is not just a color. RED is the acronym for three priorities that we shall address ourselves. RED means “Revival, Evangelism and Discipleship.” 

For the next three years, we shall address ourselves towards Revival: reviving our faith in God who makes all things possible. Let us renew our love and commitment to Jesus Christ.

For the next three years, we shall address ourselves to Evangelism. We shall be a local branch of the new “Jesus Movement” which our new Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry inaugurated, let us be evangelists, calling people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. “Evangelism is a beggar telling other beggars where to find bread,” wrote D. T. Niles, an Asian (Sri Lankan) theologian. 

So we shall evangelize in humility. We are evangelists by attraction. By the life that we lead, by the relationships we create and by the beauty of our building and solemnity of our worship, we shall attract people to our church.

For the next three years, we shall address ourselves into “making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything God commanded” (Matthew 28:19). By evangelizing, we form a community of disciples for this and the future generations.

My friends, we owe it to the memory of our predecessors, particularly the Rev. Canon Dominic Cianella and Mother Joan Grimm Frazer (may their souls rest in peace) that we keep this Church alive, that we keep the legacy of those before us, alive and active in the mission of Jesus Christ in this world.

My friends at Holy Trinity Hicksville, these are exciting times. Let us move forward; let us move forward to see RED; to achieve RED. Let us pray that God will enable, equip and empower us in reviving this parish; in evangelizing the Hicksville community; and in making disciples among all nations. Alleluia! Thine the glory. Alleluia Amen. Alleuia, thine the glory. Revive us again. Yes, Lord, revive us again. Amen.

REVIVE US, O LORD: 1st Sermon at Holy Trinity Hicksville

HOLY TRINITY SERMON 1: REVIVE US, O LORD

(The Rev. Canon Dr. Winfred B. Vergara. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 130 Jerusalem Ave. Hicksville, NY. 6/5/2016. This is the Rev. Vergara’s first sermon as Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Hicksville) 

Today, I call for the revival of this Church. I have studied the history of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Hicksville, New York. Just like many other typical churches, it has experienced its golden years. It has experienced ups and downs. And like so many other declining churches of our time, it is now in need of a new revival. 

Revival begins with prayer. So I would like to introduce to you a prayer with some action; a prayer I composed and called “The Christian Tai Chi.” I invite you to join and follow what I do and say:

I am a child of God; I stand on His holy word. I breathe the Holy Spirit. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I push out negative thoughts; I take in positive thoughts. I push out sickness; I take in good health. I push out poverty; I take in prosperity. I push out hate; I take in love. I push out despair; I take in hope. I push out sadness; I take in joy. And now, I will share the Good News to my family, to my friends, to my neighbors, here and all over the world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

That is right. Revival begins with making the right choice. As people of the resurrection, we choose positive instead of negative, good instead of evil, light instead darkness, life instead of death. As people of the resurrection, we can even turn a negative into a positive.

The other day, Muhammad Ali died at age 74. I was a seminarian in 1975 when Ali defeated Joe Frazer in the Thrilla in Manila, to become the undisputed Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, for the third time. I remember the whole Philippines and the world stopped and stared at the television to see this guy who “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.” What made Ali so popular was that he combined boxing with poetry and comedy. Everybody loved Ali not only because he could box but also because he could dance and could speak in rhymes and reasons all at the same time. 

At his death, we learned more about his life. His rise from a humble beginning as Cassius Clay to become one of the most admired Mohammad Ali began when, as a child, his bicycle was stolen. He vowed to box the person who stole it but someone said to him, you must first learn how to box. So at age 12, he began his boxing career that eventually catapulted him to become the greatest athlete of all time. He also became an icon of inspiration for those who love freedom, respect for dignity, struggle against racism and bigotry and the courage to fight for what you believe.

Some years ago, I was in Hong Kong and Macau for my Sabbatical. One of the things I did was to help bless the world famous “Lord Stow Egg Tart.” Everyday in Macau, thousands of egg tarts with darkened top, are packaged and sent to various parts of the world for export. I had quite a good taste of that delicious egg tart of Macau. To those of you who don't know, Macau was a Portuguese Colony near Hong Kong which was returned to China in 1997.

The discovery of “Lord Stow Egg Tart” was accidental, or shall we say providential. Mr. Andrew Stow who was an Anglican and his wife, Eileen, a Chinese were cooking the tart and they forgot to remove it from the oven so it was burnt. Instead of throwing them away, they ate some and they tasted so good. From then on, the egg tart with the burnt top, became the icon of the best egg tart in the world.

Scriptures

The life of Mohammad Ali and the story of Lord Stow Egg Tart are just a couple of examples of how we can turn negative into positive. In the Bible readings for today, there are two examples of revival and reawakening. 

In the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah, with God’s help, turned the widow’s sorrow into joy when he raised her dead child to life. In the New Testament, Jesus turned a funeral into a celebration when he raised the dead man to life.

Because of the miracle, the widow came to believe that Elijah was a true prophet of God. Because of the miracle, the whole funeral party believed in God and the news of this miracle spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. The miracle of turning negative into positive, of turning darkness into light, of turning death into life is an amazing work of God and breaks open the heart of the people to God. (1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17)

I’ll tell you something:  There was a time that I thought I can also raise the dead. It happened in one of the churches I preached and I was reading the gospel about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In order to make my point clear, I read the verse where Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb , “Lazarus, come out!” I spoke loudly at the microphone, which incidentally, was wired all over the building and I shouted, ”Lazarus, come out!” From the basement of the Church, there was a louder shout, “I’m coming out!” It was the janitor of the church and his name is Lazarus!

So as your new priest-in-charge, what is your expectation of me?  I asked that question to the vestry, and Sandy, our Sr. Warden, replied “a miracle.” 

I read a book on parish revitalization and one comment says, “Parish Revitalization is one of the most difficult endeavors a priest can undertake. In fact the most common prescription is to simply close down and start a new one. It is easier to have a new baby than to raise the dead!”

Another comment says, “Revitalization is a full-time job and it takes between 4-7 years and the longer the decline, the longer the time for revitalization.” I am a part-time priest and my contract is only for three years. How can I make it to revitalize Holy Trinity which has been in decline for over ten years? 

Obviously, I can’t make a miracle; I can’t raise the dead; I can’t make this Church alive again. But I know God can! Amen? All things are possible with God. Without God, there is nothing we can do; but with God, greater things we can do.

So I prayed for a vision and God showed me the color RED. Firstly, Red is the color of love. The poet Robert Burns wrote, “My love is like a red, red rose that newly sprung in June.” Love will help revitalize this Church. Jesus says, “they will know we are Christians by your love.”

Red is the color of blood, the blood of Jesus which washes away our sins and unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus protects us, so that the angel of death, will pass over our doors and life, instead of death shall come in. 

Red is the color of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, like flames of fire resting upon the apostles and empowering them for ministry. Prior to the Holy Spirit, Peter preached 3,000 sermons but converted only one, himself. But when the Holy Spirit came, Peter preached one sermon and he converted over 3,000 people.

Such is the power of RED. For the next three years, as your priest, pastor and teacher, I will help you know about the power of the color Red: love, blood and Pentecost.

But red is not just a color. RED is the acronym for three priorities that we shall address ourselves. RED means “Revival, Evangelism and Discipleship.” 

For the next three years, we shall address ourselves towards Revival: reviving our faith in God who makes all things possible. Let us renew our love and commitment to Jesus Christ.

For the next years, we shall address ourselves to Evangelism. As a local part of the new Jesus Movement which our new Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry inaugurated, let us be evangelists, calling people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

For the next three years, we shall address ourselves into “making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything God commanded” (Matthew 28:19).

My friends at Holy Trinity Hicksville, these are exciting times. Let us move forward; let us move forward in seeing RED; in achieving RED; in achieving RED---that God will enable, equip and empower us in reviving this parish; in evangelizing the Hicksville community; and in making disciples among all nations.

Alleluia! Thine the glory. Alleluia Amen. Alleluia, thine the glory. Revive us again. Yes, Lord, revive us again. In Jesus' Name. Amen.