The Journey of Lent

December note : the meaning of Christmas

About the coordinator

My name is Theresa Innes. I am a 34-year-old wife and mother. I have been married for 9 years in September, and I have two little girls, Jessia (6) and Megan (4). I am a working mother, who somehow manages to find the time to teach the grades 1 – 3 Sunday School class every second Sunday and, until recently, gave some of my time as a sidesperson every six weeks or so. Sometimes I feel frazzled, and sometimes I feel overwhelmed. I’m not perfect, and there are times when things fall through the cracks. All I can do is hope and pray that it’s nothing really important, like my family. In other words, I am just like you.

Due to various circumstances within the Family Matters ministry, I have been asked by the Rector to take over the running and coordination of this ministry in an active leadership role. This is a very daunting and overwhelming proposition, and there were times that I wondered if Nina had given Father Tim something extra special in his Kellogg’s to make him even consider suggesting me for this role. I asked myself over and over again if I was ready for this, and whether I’d be able to contribute anything remotely approaching what he was expecting, or what the Church needed from me. I even prayed about it, and I am not one to admit needing outside help often, but this was one of those few times that I had absolutely NO idea what to do. So I prayed, and waited, and prayed some more. And you know what God said? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And as the days passed, and I still kept hearing nothing, and Father Tim as well as Hank Doeg began to call me on a more regular basis, and still I heard nothing from God, I began to wonder... Was God’s silence the answer????

Was He patiently waiting for me to "catch a wake up" and get what he was trying to tell me? It’s at moments like these that a light bulb goes off in my head, and I think that perhaps God is silently shaking his head at this "dof" child of his, and is thinking "Hello! What are you waiting for? Isn’t this why I made you? Isn’t everything coming together perfectly and wonderfully without effort? Well, that’s me! Your Father!" And then I feel stupid and feel like saying to myself "duh!"

So, here I am, looking at the Family Matters ministry with fresh, new, young(ish) eyes, and suddenly my pulse is beating a little faster, and the creative juices are flowing, and I’m feeling a fire burning deep down in the very pit of my stomach. I have so much to say, and so many ideas, and my verbal capabilities just aren’t living up to what my brain is demanding of it. So if I seem a little like the Rain Man, please bear with me. The mental capacity is strong, but the tongue is weak, and struggling to keep up.

I have a vision! A vision that the Family Matters ministry will become a shining beacon of light and hope to each and every one of our parishioners, but specifically focusing on the family unit. And whether you are the traditional nuclear family, or a more modern family made up of various family members and different kinds of relationships, or whether you are on your own and your family is the greater congregation of St. Francis, this means YOU! In the coming months I would like to see the Family Matters web page revamped, a Facebook page and twitter account created, to allow the ministry to be more accessible to all our parishioners, but specifically our youth, who, sadly, seem to have the hardest time approaching the Church for anything, and to bring the ministry into sharper focus for the parish. We need to be more visible and accessible within the Church if we are going to have any chance of succeeding. Family is what it’s about, and we want you to know that we are here for you, no matter what the need, the question, or the comment. There are a number of ministries operating under the auspices of Family Matters, and a number of willing, caring people who are able to help you and care for you, no matter what the situation. We care, and we want to be here for you, to help you make your spiritual and physical journey as painless and easy as possible. And the journey might turn out to be extremely uncomfortable, as God never promised us comfort in our search to know Him better, but at least we don’t have to be alone in doing so. Fellowship and family are extremely important to God, and it’s important to us at St. Francis as well.

Now, some of you may know me merely by my face in church, and perhaps others will know my girls. And perhaps others still will only have heard of me vaguely from your children who are in my Sunday School class. But perhaps to most of you, I am a stranger, and you might be asking yourself, "Who is this person who thinks she can help me? What makes her so qualified to help me?" And you know what? You’d be right. I’m not qualified. I have a BA degree in English and Psychology, and a "talent" for the gift of the gab, even if I’m often too shy to push myself forward and use it. But that’s all. If it weren’t for Father Timothy, I wouldn’t be doing this at all. But then again, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

I am just like you. I am a wife, like you. I am a mother, like you. I am a sister, like you. I am a daughter, like you. I am a friend, like you. I am a Christian, like you. I have doubts, fears, questions, and problems, just like you. I understand you, and I am here for you, and I would like you to contact me, or any of the wonderful people below, if you have any needs, questions, problems or comments. And please keep a lookout in the pew leaflet and on our website in the coming months for any of the changes that I hope will be taking place soon.

And please remember, we are here for you, because Family Matters!