Well, I'd be suspicious if I were you. Clearly the question on your mind – if I were sitting where you're sitting, it would be the question on my mind – is, "Who is this guy? What is his vision for the future of this ministry and of this place?" And much like the fog at the beach in the early morning; that's not clear right now. There's hope of clearing later. So I can't say too much about a vision for the future; it's presumptuous to do that having been here all of an hour. But I do want to say something about the foundations of faith. Those sorts of solid and rock hard commitments of faith that inform my ministry and my life and, I think, our church.

And in speaking of foundations, we need to be very basic. And so today's sermon will be about the "A, B, C's of ministry." First, the letter "A."

"A" is to remind you that we are Anglicans. Now in saying that we are Anglicans, I am not suggesting that we are the Church of England in exile in America. To be Anglican is to remember a legacy and a heritage. Our church had a pre-history before that other "St. A" – St. Augustine of Rome – brought conversion of the Roman Catholic Church in the 6th century. That primitive Celtic spirituality is essentially a part of who we are. And is the foundation of our identity as God's people who happen to be part of the Anglican expression. Richard Hooker in the 16th century talked about authority, Anglican authority, in this way. He described a 3 legged stool. Three legs which are indispensible to that structure remaining firm in its foundation and able to support life. The three parts of that structure are scripture (the Word of God), teaching about scripture and third, our reason – our ability to understand in our hearts, informed by the Holy Spirit. Now I know that Marni* has schooled many of you in this well –and so I am reminding you of something many of you already know. The problem, however, is living with a "diffuse authority" is hard work. Many people in our culture would prefer a sense of certainty. And when I stand before you today and talk about a "diffuse authority," clearly that demands hard work. This is not a church for those who would simply receive. This is a church for those who are willing to struggle. And to realize that oftentimes, because of that history, we as Anglicans will be at odds with those who were nurtured by another soil.

Our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, for much of their history, lived with one single authority: the teaching of the church. Our Protestant brothers and sisters – those churches that came out of the re-formation of the Roman expression – lived with another authority, that is: scripture alone. But for you and me as Anglicans, we understand that truth is not a fact to be received or to be somehow revealed, but for us truth is a dialogue, a dialogue. That sounds like "license" to many. But for those of us who are Anglicans, it's life and vitality –and again, hard work. For us as Anglicans, we firmly believe that scripture is not the only authority, that God reveals God's purposes in other ways, including science. We don't believe in proof-texting the Bible, taking verses out of context. We don't believe in the inerrancy of scripture and we believe firmly that scripture, as divinely inspired; that we need to receive the whole of Biblical narrative and be informed and have our lives conformed to that narrative. Now what that means practically is that we won't always agree. We won't agree with our Protestant brothers and sisters and our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. Not because we're right and they're wrong but because we are nurtured by a different soil in history. And tragically, oftentimes, we won't even agree with our Episcopalian brothers and sisters. "A" is for Anglican authority, and its image is a 3 legged stool – and that's a foundation of faith.

Second is the letter "B" for baptism. My trust is that baptism has a high visibility in the life of this ministry. That we hold baptism in a high regard. When you were baptized; you received the Holy Spirit. You became what you were not before – and you are not what you shall yet be. In baptism, we – you and me – were initiated into a process. We did not arrive at a destination.

When I was first ordained some quarter of a century ago, I remember that people, particularly in the South, would come and say that they wanted to have their child "done." I always bristled when someone said that they wanted to have a child "done." But oftentimes they would say that they would like to have their child "christened." Don't know if you know that word. We don't use it much anymore. And I would bristle and I would say: "You want me to hit your child over the head with a bottle of champagne? We "christen" ships!" (I was a very smart- mouth young priest.)

The more I think about it, it's not a bad image because when we "christen" something, we send it forth into a voyage, into a journey – and baptism is a journey, not an end unto itself. We don't always agree as a church about how to do it but I think we agree on what is to be done. Our mission as a church is to encourage non-believers to become believers. Our mission as a church is to enable believers to become disciples. Our mission as a church is to equip disciples to become ministers – it's a process.

Now when I use the word "equip" this morning, that's a very important word for me. In the Book of Common Prayer there is a prayer suggested for use during the time of a search for a new pastor. And in that prayer it says: "God please send us a pastor who will equip us for our ministries." The word "equip" is best translated "to mend." The way a fisherman would mend a torn net or a doctor would mend a broken arm. Part of the ministry of the church – my ministry and your ministry – is to bring healing. Many people in our world are sadly broken – by their history and by their experiences. This is a difficult, difficult world in which to live. Our joyful ministry is to bring people a sense of hope and healing. That their lives are transformed and they are strengthened and equipped, healed, and given tools for ministry, to mend the world for God. "B" is for baptism and its image is living water, living water.

"C" is for – and don't worry, I'm not gonna go through the whole alphabet here! – "C" is for "comprehensive." We are a comprehensive church. Now in using the word "comprehensive," I recall that our denomination used to be more comfortable with diversity.

A little bit about my history. I grew up in an Anglo-catholic parish. What we used to call "high church." That meant that on most Sundays, if we didn't use two incense pots, it was a "low Sunday." I was sent to a "low church" seminary by my Bishop so that I could experience a different expression of the church. And I remember clearly my first day of seminary, as I marched off to Chapel with a copy of "The People's Anglican Missal" under my arm – only to discover something called the Book of Common Prayer." A book I had never heard of in my life and discovered a service of prayer called "morning prayer" which had no communion connected to it. For me, it was a time of "spiritual dissonance." "Where am I and is this really my church?"

When we talk about diversity in the expression called Anglicanism, we're talking about a tough way to live. In most of our life we struggle with racial inclusivity; we struggle with inclusivity around issues of class. We rejoice in the great variety of human sexualities and the challenge to be authentic in dealing with difference of gender. But dealing with spiritual diversity is tough. But if we are a comprehensive church, then it means that we are a place that welcomes traditionalists as well as New Age, inclusive-language modernists. That we welcome charismatics as well as evangelicals. That we welcome the Anglo-catholics. That we welcome the full expression of spiritualities. Did I leave anyone out? Oh yes… the social activists and the rational-intellectuals. I think that covers the waterfront. Is that everybody here?! Anybody I left out??

And that means if someone wants to genuflect and cross themselves, they need to be tolerant of those who would raise their hands and say "praise Jesus!" That's hard. A comprehensive church welcomes the full expression of our response to God's grace and realizes that we don't all have to conform to be united in God. That's the foundation that I see. "C" is for comprehensive and its image is …. you! Each of you. That brings your own response to God's grace in your life.

Now I have shared the "A, B, and C" of Anglican authority, baptism and comprehensiveness as a foundation that is essential to my sense of what it means to be an Anglican/Episcopalian in this day and age. On this foundation, clearly, we build a healthy church life.

I have to tell you a story though. And I don't have a clue what this story means. Over the last few weeks, I have been visiting other churches in this city in order to have a sense of the breath of religious expression in Santa Monica. Last Sunday, I went to the First Presbyterian Church just 2 blocks from us. I had a wonderful time, enjoyed singing the hymns; enjoyed the worship very much.

At the end of the service, as I stood to leave, a young man was standing behind me and he came up and he said: "You're comfortable with liturgical worship, aren't you?" And I allowed as yes, I was. And then he sort of looked at me and said, "You're an Episcopalian, aren't you?"

Was it the smell of incense in the clothes? I don't have a clue where that comes from –but I can sure say that it's nice to be home. It sure is nice to be home.

Today is an important day in the life of my family. Today is my ordination anniversary. It also is, more importantly, the day that we received our son Taran into our lives, the day he was placed among us and became a "Murphy." It's an important day in his life as well. And it's an adoption day also for Marla and Taran and I; as we are, this day, adopted into your family life.

Marla said to me after the election, after news of my election to be your Rector – and wives have a way of just saying it perfectly, that husbands resist and then come around and agree – she said, "This is the job you have been preparing for all your life." By God's grace, I think that's true.

It is a great joy to finally be among you. Amen.

*Marni Schneider was interim priest-in-charge here from 1995-96.

Join us on January 3rd, 2010 at the 10:30 service as we welcome the Rt. Rev. Chester L. Talton as our guest celebrant and preacher and say goodbye to Hartshorn and Marla. Join us for a luncheon following the service in Pierson Hall. All are welcome! Note: the 8 a.m. service will NOT be held that day.

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