Dear Incarnation,
In November 2023 as we were meeting for the first time, Incarnation’s vestry read, meditated and discussed this section of Jeremiah’s letter to God’s people who had just been driven to Babylon at the point of a sword in 597 BCE:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” … This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:4-7,10-11)
During our 2024 vestry term — a year of both political and geopolitical turmoil, our “city of exile” seemed captivated by bombastic words: Warring, Ruling, Winning — or at least: Impacting, Declaring, Refuting, and Influencing. At the time of Jeremiah’s letter, God’s people were just months or weeks into their humiliating defeat and exile to Babylon, and they were ready to believe they would triumphantly return to Jerusalem after just a few years. They asked their prophets to tell them that they would need only a couple more years of warring before they could get on with returning, ruling and winning.
At the beginning of 2025, as we re-read and reflect upon God’s word through Jeremiah, it appears that, in contrast to this bombast, his desire for his exiled people is striking in its tranquility: Building, Settling down, Increasing, Planting, Eating, Marrying, Seeking peace and prosperity, Praying. Lives blessed by him and filled with quiet, rooted, sturdy, and ordinary faithfulness. A lifetime (seventy years) and generations (daughters and sons) of silently deepening roots in order to flourish, bear fruit, and increase in Babylon and for their Babylonian neighbors.
Perhaps this is a lesson for Incarnation Anglican Church as well. While our “city of exile” is allured by maximum impact and quick returns on investment, his gracious plan and timeline for his people is multigenerational and ever-growing for us, our children, and for our neighbors.
Last year after Pentecost, as the church calendar turned to what Anglicans call “Ordinary Time,” Amy and Katie preached a four-week sermon series entitled “Ordinary Church,” with lessons drawn from Acts 2, reminding us of who we are and who we are becoming as “ordinary” Christians. (A reminder that these sermons — all Incarnation’s sermons — are helpfully available as podcasts in Spotify, Soundcloud, or Apple podcasts, as well as on the website, and are worth re-listening.)
Following the framework of that sermon series, in 2024, as we have lived out our life together as an “ordinary church” we have seen God’s extraordinary goodness and generosity to us.
We are Worshipers - Incarnation welcomed the introduction of our curate, Russell Vick, as our worship leader and the spirit, talent, inclusion, joy, and harmonica that he brings to our corporate worship. We also were amazed at the welcome and opportunity to celebrate Advent 4 worship with - and in the facilities - of Beverley Hills United Methodist Church during Advent and Christmastide.
We are Generous - Wow. In 2024, God’s generosity was displayed through you, his people, as extraordinary gifts were given to and through the church to meet ministry, emergency healthcare, and outreach partner expenses. We’d encourage you to read the end-of-year financial update (https://www.incarnationanglican.org/post/year-end-giving-financial-letter) and to stay tuned for more details.
We are Peacemakers - The staff and the vestry are aware of many stories of extraordinary grace, kindness, forgiveness and reconciliation as well as courageous and quiet decisions to place lives in the hands of our Prince of Peace.
We are Citizens of God’s Kingdom - Incarnation saw multigenerational growth, not only in the baptisms of Ginny, Rhys, Juliana, Adam, Marien, and Chloe, but also “neighborly growth” as we welcomed eighteen new adult members, including a whole contingent from Maryland!
As the vestry and staff look forward to the coming year, we recognize that we have a few extraordinary opportunities before us in 2025.
We are grateful and look forward to providing a well-deserved sabbatical for our rector, Amy Rowe, during the summer months. At the vestry’s request, Amy and a small sabbatical planning team have been drafting and reviewing plans to ensure continuity of worship, pastoral ministry and communication during those months. Please pray for good planning and implementation so a season of God’s refreshment and renewal will have its full effect for Amy, Trent, Nadia, and John.
We also recognize that one important way ordinary church is experienced is among our neighbors and in our neighborhoods. To that end, in addition to continuing our ministry to our neighbors in South Arlington, under the oversight of the diocese, the staff and vestry have made plans to offer a monthly Eucharist service in Hyattsville, MD, starting this month. Please pray for Incarnation to have eyes and ears open to God as we follow him step-by-step on behalf of our Maryland neighbors, and pray for Associate Rector Katie Hamlin, as well as Darrin, Brendan, Asher, and Elisa as they discern and lead.
Continue to pray for the staff and vestry to courageously and faithfully undertake the work God places before them. Pray that we would continue look to God to form, provide for, and lead the church. Please continue to pray for God to lead us to a permanent place where Incarnation can be embedded in a neighborhood and embody the kingdom among our neighbors. Pray for God to give us everything we need to do everything he wants us to do.
On November 5, when we celebrated All Saints Day, we introduced a song that was new to our music library — the gentleness, joyfulness, and the sudden appearance of a “fierce, wild beast” makes it so much an Incarnation hymn. Judge for yourselves:
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
And one was a shepherdess on the green
They were all of them saints of God and I mean
God helping, to be one too.
They loved their Lord, so dear, so dear,
And his love made them strong.
And they followed the right for Jesus’ sake
The whole of their good lives long.
And one was a scholar and one was a priest,
And one was slain by a fierce, wild beast
And there’s not any reason, no, not the least
Why I shouldn’t be one too.
They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
Who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
In church, by the sea, in the house next door;
They are saints of God, whether rich or poor,
And I mean to be one too.
Incarnation friends, let’s live ordinary lives before our extraordinary God — lives of worship, welcome and wonder — through 2025 and into the next generations for our own flourishing and for our neighbors.
Grant Sung and Will Montague, Wardens
[Amy notes: Grant's vestry term will end this Sunday, Jan 12, as we commission the new vestry. Please make a point to thank him for his service on Sunday!]
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