I found this saying in one of those catalogues we always seem to get around Christmas time.

“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs. The Titanic was built by professionals.”

Now there’s a spin on doing something new. New means change. New means different. Even if you’re not the one doing a new thing, if someone close to you does a new thing, it still brings change. It brings new. It brings different. And it brings questions. Some have answers. Some not.

We should never be afraid to trust an unknown road to a known God. (II Cor. 5:7, 17)

So… new. A New Year, new opportunities, new challenges. It seems like we all hold our breath at Christ-mas, plunge through it, and begin to breathe again after New Year’s, looking ahead to the new year and what we hope it might hold. No one I’ve talked with in the last few weeks is sorry to see 2009 go away. The universal hope is that 2010 is better. It may be, but it will certainly hold in it the seeds of different. And it will hold in it the promise of God’s presence.

We have the ability to celebrate a new year any day by virtue of our faith. God does not run by clock or calendar. God is beyond all that, yet God is intimately present in every now. God calls us into the future with Him, being empowered by Him for whatever the new holds for us.

The new might be something like new ministry in new congregations. Deacon Lynne left St. George’s this summer to begin a new ministry in Mechanicville at St. Luke’s. In her letter to the parish, published in the Dragon’s Tale, she references God’s new work continuing in her. It will be different. Beth Strickland has responded to the new call of supporting her husband, Fr. Chip, in his ministry, and so now she worships and works with him at Grace Church, Waterford. Deacon Maureen Demler and Deacon Scott Underhill came to begin their ministry at St. George’s in June after their May ordinations as Deacons. Mother Lau-rie joined us on a more permanent basis as Curate in January, moving from Diocesan Ministry to parish ministry in all its blessing and intensity. Mother Karen was licensed to serve in the diocese in January and joined us as Priest Associate after having served as Dean and Rector in the dioceses of New York, North-western Pennsylvania and Michigan. In January I celebrated my 25th anniversary as a priest, and in July I began my second year as rector here. Deacon Bob Roach has had to adjust to all the newness, and has done so with great grace and humor. Part of our new work has been the establishment of Conventual Eucharists for the clergy of the parish on a monthly basis, where we gather for worship, prayer and fel-lowship along with regular communication about our place in the ministry at St. George’s. Last Fall we began an outreach ministry to the residents of Coburg Village, meeting with them at their request for Eucharist twice monthly. New things, new ministries, new people. New occasions for thanksgiving and discernment. In all this, O God, make us never be ashamed to be called amateurs. An amateur is one who loves what they do.
Help us always, as we remember to say our prayers, to see You in the New.

Fr. Henry