Maui is ash. Ukraine is still besieged. Desperate migrants are still gathered at our border. July was the hottest month in recorded history, but August is chasing it. And another bitter election cycle is upon us. Sadly, the list of things to worry about seems only to grow every day.

As a church that has never shied away from engaging current events, it is tempting to want to respond to every one. Let me tell you, it's hard as a preacher to decide which events to comment on, when everything feels important. The great Karl Barth said that preachers should hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, interpreting the latter with the former. But it's easier said than done, especially when you feel like you're living in a pinball machine, anxiously bounced here and there by every bit of breaking news.

Meanwhile, and almost certainly related, the Church is accelerating its decades-long period of decline. It's been happening since the 1960s and picked up speed in the 90s, but the pandemic put it on steroids. Surveys of American religious practices in the last few years have revealed a startling drop in attendance and involvement across all generations, though the decline among those under the age of 55 is the most troubling (in just the last three years, as many as 30% fewer people under the age of 55 attend church regularly¹).

I'm not simply speculating when I connect these two realities. When probed for the reasons for their detachment from church, large numbers cite the overwhelming fatigue of the pandemic and the inability to find the energy to return. They are busy and tired, so once they got out of the practice it was hard to resume. They admit to struggles with their mental and emotional health, but rather than returning to the practices of the faith, they have unmoored from the very communities that could resurrect their hope and peace.

Now, with all that bleak news, it would be reasonable to wonder why, at this particular moment, Transfiguration is inviting everyone to participate in a survey of spiritual gifts. With everything happening all around us that feels so desperate, and with the future of the wider Church more uncertain than ever, why are we urging people to look inward?

Well, I believe that reflecting on our spiritual gifts is one of the best activities we can each do right now. Hear me out: in the face of all our challenges, we need to remember that God has not left us alone. The mission of the Church is not of human design, and the work of the Church does not depend solely on human ability. God knows what we're up against, and God also knows what we need. Which is why the Holy Spirit pours out gifts upon us at baptism, equipping every single one of us to bear the love of Christ into our hurting world.

Put a different way, when we look around at the world on fire, literally and figuratively, and we wonder what we could possibly do in response, the Holy Spirit says to us, "I have given you everything you need. Take up your gifts and wield them."

So my first hope in conducting this spiritual gifts assessment is to help all of us better appreciate what we have been given by God. You, by virtue of your baptism, are the recipient of the power of the Holy Spirit. You have divinely given abilities, because there is no such thing as a Christian who lacks spiritual gifts. These are different from the skills you have developed on your own, or knowledge you have learned, or the genes you have inherited. These are abilities God has given you that you didn't earn, deserve, or even ask for. Yet, the Spirit, in her wisdom, chose you to receive them.

And not accidentally, either! God knows what we need, and gives for a purpose – and that purpose is not our own comfort or prosperity, either. Spiritual gifts are given for the work of loving and serving others. Which is why my second hope in this exercise is that it will help each of us discern where we are best-suited to serve. It's no secret that we are more likely to give our time and energy to things that feel fulfilling, and we feel more fulfilled when we are engaged in things that draw out our best. By knowing more about ourselves, and the unique gifts God has given us, we are more likely to experience the joy of serving as God intends.

Transfiguration is not immune from those wider trends I mentioned earlier. We are experiencing the same struggles with attendance and participation that is happening all over the Church. But it would be counter-productive to ask any available person to serve in whatever ministry has the most pressing need. Servanthood can be profoundly fulfilling, even life-changing, but not if we're serving in a way that doesn't utilize the gifts of the Spirit. Such work feels like drudgery, not love.

We want to connect everyone at the Fig with ways to serve that call forth their gifts. We want people to feel the joy that happens when we're giving our lives to something that matters. We want to be a community in which everyone can meaningfully contribute to the Kingdom of God.

Is the spiritual gifts assessment perfect? Of course not. In 60 brief questions, we can't possible explore all the ways you have been blessed by God. But even if it doesn't capture you perfectly, hopefully it will get you praying and thinking about how you have been gifted by the Holy Spirit. You have been blessed by God with spiritual tools for holy purposes. The world may seem chaotic and anxious, but thanks to the grace of the Spirit, we have everything we need.

Father Casey +