By Father Casey
In the corner of the Gathering Space, a huge colorful heart has been painted. The shape is comprised of small geometric pieces, each a distinct color, which when assembled together makes the shape of the heart. Those smaller pieces are the shape of the “You Are Here” tabs you sometimes see on maps, with a rounded top and a pointed bottom.
Our wonderfully creative Director of Communications TJ McCoy came up with that design this summer to symbolize the theme of our fall: Where Our Heart Is. It comes from part of the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus teaches that if you want to know where someone’s heart is, just look for where they spend their money, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:19-21).”
I wonder how often you allow yourself time to ask that question: Where is my heart? What has my attention, my devotion, my love? What do I value above other things in my life? Only you can answer that for yourself when you probe your conscience. But Jesus’ teaching is a reminder that what we think we love is not necessarily what we show we love. For feelings are one thing, but actions are another, and what we say we love doesn’t much matter until we make it a priority in our lives.
That’s really what Small Bites is all about.
I hope most of us would say that our hearts are with Transfiguration. We are proud of our mission. We love our values of inclusivity and embrace. We delight in the beauty of the worship. We feel strongly that the Fig is special and important, both in our lives and in the wider community.
For Transfiguration to really flourish, for it to be a thriving, growing community of faith and love, we need everyone to match with their actions what they feel in their hearts. We need everyone who loves what we represent and supports our witness to be actively engaged in our ministry life. Because it is one thing to feel good about the Fig; it is another thing to be involved in the things about the Fig that we love.
In order to make it easier to get engaged and take some of the intimidation out of joining a ministry, we developed Small Bites: over 700 one-off, single-shot opportunities to sample one of our 50+ ministries. To further help, we created the spiritual gifts assessment to make it easier to find a “good fit” ministry that aligns with the ways God has blessed us.
We are asking everyone at the Fig to take two small bites – just two – in the next few months. Try out the Altar Guild. Ride along with a Eucharistic Visitor. Be a lector for a weekday Eucharist. And on and on.
The bottom line is to help all of us say with our lives what we feel in our heart. For that is where the true joy of the Kingdom is to be found.
Father Casey +