We believe that God created the world out of nothing.  But we don’t for one minute believe that he is finished with the world yet.

Deists believe that God created the cosmos and stepped back a few paces to let things in the cosmos play themselves out.  We Christians take our lead from the Incarnation.

God keeps getting dirt under his fingernails, bumping his shins, and rubbing elbows with us.  God keeps engaging with this world of his because he wants to make us whole, to draw us ever closer to him, and to help us figure out how to love each other with the love he keeps giving us.

This is the root from which the third phrase of our vision statement springs: to love and serve the world for Christ.

For three weeks we have examined together the vision that guides our common life here at St. Marks:

To love and serve Christ,

To love and serve one another in Christ,

To love and serve the world for Christ.

Christ’s love is at the heart of all that we do.  We love each other with the love he has given us. And as we shall see in this fourth and final installment, we are sent into the world by this love and open our arms to those outside our community who are seeking shelter, comfort and strength in our midst.  We are called to transform the world around us and to invite others into our community.

St. Mark’s is already at work faithfully transforming the world through our many Outreach ministries.  Candace Higginbotham and Susie Crichton were kind enough to sit with me within my first couple of weeks to help orient me to what we do.  My mind is still reeling a bit, but I have to admit that my heart is also bursting with pride at the faithful work of this community.

Here is a list of ministries, groups involved in outreach ministries, and ministries we support that is probably only partial: Community Ministries, Cooking Crew, Episcopal Church Women, Grace Home Meals, Health Ministry, Lion’s Pride, Northwest Louisiana Interfaith Pharmacy, Personal Pantry, Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal, St. Luke’s Mobile Medical Unit, St. Mark’s School (I’ll come back to this), The Fuller Center, and VOA/Highland Center Meals on Wheels.

St. Mark’s School participates in many outreach activities, but the School itself is an excellent example of how we love and serve the world by opening our arms and welcoming others.  We serve the broader community every day in our classrooms, chapels, and gym.  Our Music Program serves the community in this same way.  Take for example the Great Masterpiece Series.  We offer the community a space to be engaged and edified by God in ways that some may not even recognize as the divine: the beautiful.

The School and the Music Program take the lead in helping us to be what every Cathedral should be: a place that the broader community (whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jew, Agnostic, Atheist or Vaguely Curious) calls their own in some way.  They know that we are here to serve them.  They are always welcome here and can turn to us for meaningful programs and experiences, even if they have no intention of becoming a member of our faith family.  When our new bells are ringing, their tolling will draw in every listener’s heart in a similar way.

Evangelism is also a way to love the world for Christ.  At the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus charged his disciples with making disciples of all the nations.  And we are under the same charge.  In future articles I will talk about the evangelism ministry in detail.  Inviting and greeting are important, and a committee led by Herschel Richard has already begun finding ways to welcome newcomers.  But there is much more about evangelism for us to know about.

For now, let me just say this brief word about why we help people find the love of Christ.  We want them to know the joy that they were created to have.  We have anchored our common life in Jesus Christ because he makes our lives full, rich, exciting, and meaningful.  This is his gift to us, and it is too good to keep to ourselves.

We have much to do and be together.  But here is something I want you to remember.  You are my ministry.  Knowing you, loving you, and just spending time with you is my ministry.  And I thank our Lord Christ for you every day.