Pray, serve, give
Happy Birthday HHO!
What a milestone to be celebrating on this wonderful occasion in the life of our community as we turn 5, our close to the season of creation with our animal blessing service.
We are back with our Hermit remembrance too as we honour St Francis of Assisi today who said:
"Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
How true that is of our story.
Starting out in pandemic with the catalyst of circumstance propelling us online, we found a mission to outreach and make community for those who cannot or will not participate in a traditional expression of church, as well as many others who choose to be with us occasionally or just for a season online.
We have done so much together during this time and I am so grateful to have been a part of all that we have explored, enjoyed and grown through.
I could go on, and on, about our ministries and projects,
faithformation and spiritual care
contemplative practices,
our animal ministry and christmastide subscriptions
and our gatherings which bring so many of us from around the globe into fellowship together.
I could brag about our partnerships which have seen us collaborate with communities also inhabiting the digital space like Benedictus, our home base at the Cathedral which offers us roots on the ground while we enrich the precinct ministries with our innovations
and of course our Digital Mission Program built for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas which we haded over this week,
and which they will be making use of in their own mission amplification space into the future and we hope we can share with other diocese and communities after the pilot period ends at the end of 2026.
I could endlessly celebrate the way that we enable vocations to flourish for our servers and behind the scenes volunteers who make use of the technology to exercise their God given talents and acts of service.
And those who give of themselves so generously in our fellowship which we share together regularly.
I could shout from the roof tops about what we have built together...
but just as it is impoprtant to look at all we have experienced together in these foundational years, so also it is important to reach out to the next things and give you some encouragement as we enter a new season after today.
St Francis words:
"Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
are a very good reminder to us to just take the next step in faith, and let God lead the way to the future that is laid out before us through the gifting of the Holy Spirit. We don't have to know how it will all work out. Only trust that with God - it will and it will be good.
We are marking a shift in leadership today as I go on maternity leave until October next year, starting after our 5th birthday hat party tonight.
And although I am going to really miss you all and the ministry which we share, I have to say I am already feeling about ready to burst with this baby, so am ready to get nesting and make ready for this new arrival in the coming weeks.
I will share news of baby as soon as they have made their grand entrance and likely visit sometime around Christmas online.
So that is what I will be doing from now on... but what are you going to be up to...?
The pastoral care of Holy Hermits Online will be shared amoung our Cathedral Clergy Team and Rev'd Lauren, our wonderful honourary digital deacon who will be offering 2 days of ministry leadership each week through this 12 month period.
I am amazed at the way God continues to bless us with those who are called into relationship with our community and it is such a blessing to have Rev'd Lauren come to be with us, not just for this time, when we will gratefully have her leadership, but for good and well beyond the year ahead as she belongs with us!
Thank you Lauren for answering the call - and may we bless you as you continue to bless us in this space!
We will be slowing down and inviting more sabbath during this time, so that the change from having a paid clergy person working 4 days a week and an honourary Deacon, to an unpaid clergy person offering 2 days a week, as a gift, alongside the wider pastoral team of the Cathedral, is managable.
Our exciting ministries and projects will carry on - but at a slower pace!
We may notice that there is a return to the more contemplative and silence focused flavour of our former years, before our partnership with our American brothers and sisters saw things ramp up in our space.
Some might remember a few years ago I used to work 2 days a week before our partnerships needed more of my time, and our community thrived during that time too.
It certainly can do so again.
We just need to adjust our expectations and be gracious with one another and ourselves.
Now that doesn't mean we let it all hang out, and go to sleep on ministry for this season.
No indeed, it means that each community member is invited even more than usual to continue prayerfully ministering and participating in 3 areas of our collective experience together:
1. praying and caring for one another,
2. serving however you are called to serve and
3. being present to our fundraising efforts and the regular titheing gifts made to community.
1.
The prayer group which is always active in our HHO app prayer wall space, has the opportunity to offer intercession for one another even more than before - if you notice someone is having a hard time - post a prayer!
And all who gather in our space can continue to look out for one another.
Make sure you build one another up in welcoming and fellowship spaces before and after gatherings, give encouragement when it seems needed, and give it even when it doesn't!
If you have had someone on your heart and in your prayers, let them know!
If you notice someone is missing from worship for a few weeks straight and are concerned, reach out - let Rev'd Lauren or another clergy member know.
All of our Cathedral team can be contacted through our website - either on the about > our team page or the help page for pastoral care.
If you yourself are in need of prayer or conversation - don't wait to be noticed!
We clergy aren't mind readers and when people tell us exactly what they need, it is a huge help!
Sing up - visit the website, go to the help page and choose pastoral and spiritual care to reach out to a clergy person for a conversation!
You can choose to reach out to Dean Peter, Canon Julia, Canon Jess, Canon Sel, Rev’d Gemma, Rev’d Ann, Bishop Bill and Judy as well as Rev'd Lauren;
They are all wonderful people to have conversation with and are completely behind us at HHO!
A pro tip - if you aren't sure about who you might feel comfortable talking to, each of them has been to HHO and offered sermons or talks in the last 5 years so make sure you listen to their voices and be guided to the best fit for you through their teaching.
You can find these sermons or talks on our website via the sermons page using the filters at the right hand side, or by visiting their profile on our team page.
If you feel too shy to reach out to them directly, then reply to a Friday or Sunday send out or email our holyhermits@ email address to be put in touch!
2.
The vocations already active in our services and gatherings as well as behind the scenes become even more essential in keeping our space alive
- thank you to our Liturgical Assistants, Cantors, Welcomers, Fellowship leaders, tech team members, readers, chat hosts, service prep team members, proof readers, music curators, attendance recorders, digital faith artists, leaders of small group spaces, retreats and other workshop spaces and all those who just offer themselves in our gatherings by interacting and attending!
It is wonderful to know that we have so many active lay ministries in our space, thriving alongside one another!
And a reminder that Chris and Leonie continue in their Governance roles, offering big picture vision and guidance.
You can reach out to them, if you don't need a clergy person, but might have some questions or suggestions for our space through the holyhermits@ email address.
3.
Now that our funding through our partnership with the Episcopal diocese of Texas has finished, the community offerings, what is gifted via direct debit, credit card or via our HHO app, will be sustaining our admin officer role and other expenses in the space. (Give | Holy Hermits Online)
Since June we have had a focus on raising our givings and our goal of offertories is increasing every month up to $3,500AUD in December.
- please remain mindful of that and commit the generosity of our community givings and fundraising to prayer.
It is so important that we remain conscious of this and allow God to provide through us and to us in our attentive stewardship and titheing.
Now the truth us that even if we reach that goal of $3,500 in offertories consistantly, that still doesn't go toward a clergy persons stipend and allowances.
This means that as ever we need to find alternatives and will be seeking new opportunities through partnership and other foundations, ministry grants, and charitable trusts to try and build up our resources and employ our clergy again in the future.
With only the very little investment from our diocese in our first year of starting up and no financial aspect to our residing at the Cathedral, this means that we clergy at HHO sing for our supper in other ways.
So please pray for Rev'd Lauren as she seeks to make connections and have conversations around funding options and give her all the support you can, in your care for her as she cares for you.
With these three foci we can carry on seeing God make use of our gifts and offerings in the digital mission we share with one another, and witness what the Holy Spirit will guide us to next.
1. Pray
2. Serve
3. Give
And the slowing down that we are called to embody is an invitation to deeper contemplation, more intentional sabbath and rest, and the reverence that comes of noticing what is going on around us and how we are called to respond.
There may be some challenges as things settle into a new rythm, we pray for one another through them and listen for God's voice.
There may be some more needs for service and ministry, we respond to the vocations call as God guides us.
There may be some funding gaps and financial pressures, we remain vigilant and generous with the gifts we share and keep seeking the next things to sustain us.
Here is another St Francis quote to help us reflect on our shared ministry, which I invite you to meditate on in the time ahead:
"If God can work through me, God can work through anyone".
I love this - it reminds me that this is God's ministry, not just mine or yours,
this is God's mission, we just share in it,
this is God's Church and we, lucky and graced us, get to join in with what the Holy Spirit is already doing by participating fully in all that we do together.
So I ask every blessing on each an every one of you as we journey on into the future as a community,
slowing down and taking just the next step together,
knowing that whatever comes our way, we will pray, we will serve and we will give generously
and because of that, we will be guided by the one who holds each and every one of us in loving eternal and everlasting embrace
that will see us in the Kingdom of Christ's new creation.
I'll finish with a poem adapted from our guest preacher Steve.
It's called Reverence and it calls on God to slow us down
- breathe deeply with me through this as we slow down:
God, slow us down to the pace of reverence.
Open our eyes to the light of reverence.
Tune our ears to the frequency of reverence.
Move our hands with the grace of reverence.
May we live with reverence and delight,
with compassion, receptivity, and love.
May our lives be a reverent offering to you.
Amen.