LAKEWOOD/TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com
Date: September 15, 2024 Charter Sunday
Scripture Lesson: James 2:1-10, 14-17
Sermon: Leaving a Legacy
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
Mary Byrd was the moderator of Lakewood United Church of Christ from 1982-1985. She was the second woman to be moderator of the church. The first was Evelyn Kaspar, Ed Kaspar’s mom, from 1977 to 1979. And Mary was African American. The church put its faith in the leadership of a Black woman decades ago. And it wasn’t popular or common then either.
And for those who did not know her, Mary was a person of supreme competence and compassion. She was a teacher and a curriculum specialist in Manatee County, working with the most challenging students. I remember her telling me that she would not have any device in her home that she could not personally operate. She did the crossword puzzles in the paper every day. She watched Jeopardy every day. She and her husband, James, played Scrabble every day. She read the Bible front to back, a different version, each year. This woman was supremely smart, capable, and caring.
And she very honestly conveys the challenges of church life. Mary had this to say in her annual report to the congregation at the end of her first year as moderator:
“I accepted the responsibilities of Moderator after many prayers and consultations. I’ve never felt more inadequate. The first three months went by so smoothly, until I told myself there had to be more to the position. Then I began to receive phone calls prefaced with, ‘Since you are Moderator, I thought you should know……’ I knew the honeymoon was over.”
Mary goes on to tell of attending many activities including state and local UCC events. She mentions projects undertaken at the church: A new church sign. Drainage issues.
Then she concludes: “There were problems. (I expected some, but of a different kind.)
“For me, this had been a learning year. Thanks for your faith and continued support.”
Well, that to me is a frank description of life in the church. At its best. Authentic. Sincere. A later Lakewood Church moderator, Kristin Andes, notes: “In places where we really commit our hearts and overtime, where we are known beyond the superficialities, our differences become evident. We are all different, and working through difference is what conflict is.”
As we heard this morning, the book of James encourages people of faith basically to put their money where their mouth is. The writer is addressing people who are living in the diaspora, scattered, and being persecuted for their faith. They are living in hostile surroundings. In such circumstances, it would be easy to limit your faith to the verbal expression of beliefs. To theoretical theology. But the writer of James says, no. Faith, if it is real, if it is to have power, must be expressed in action. In deeds. So we have the story of a rich person and a poor person coming to church. They are to be treated the same. The same consideration, deference, hospitality, to both. That is the what makes faith real.
Our faith should be evident first in our life together as a church. And then in our witness to the world. I love Mary’s and Kristin’s comments about being moderator because they are honest. They address the challenges of trying to live together in community and to serve the world.
It is a challenge to try to fully live the gospel here at church; in our relationships, in our decisions, and in our behavior toward one another. It takes a lot of humility, forgiveness, vulnerability, and love to try to get along and get something done for Jesus. And living the gospel usually puts us at odds with the societal context around us, just as it did for those first readers of the book of James. Phil Smith, my predecessor as pastor of this church, noted in his final pastor’s report in 1991: “The church is to be a community, not a corporation: it is to be more like a family than a factory. The church always has to operate primarily on the basis of faith. It always has to respond to God’s will, not to human’s customs and ways.” We are constantly bucking a system that is trying to hold us captive. Our world is not set up for egalitarian community. It is not set up to treat everyone as equals. It is not set up to expect conflict and to learn how to grow through resolving differences. The world is set up to worship wealth and the wealthy. To bow and scrape to those with status and fame and money. We do not live in a world set up to dignify those made poor. We do not live in times in which those who are of little financial means are elevated and respected. Oh no. This is why we see such hatred and hostility in our land. So many people feel disrespected, left behind, and ignored.
This is not the way of Jesus. And we start by living out that alternative reality here in the church. And then we carry that gospel message out into the community. We can see that happening in the life of this church through its 57 years of ministry.
This morning, we will hear from three people who have been part of the congregation since its formation. They will share what has been impactful to them about the ministry of the church. They will tell us about how the church has practiced what it has professed, as James says.
First, we will hear from Christy Martin.
And then Ed Kaspar.
And then Bill Parsons.
What a beautiful testimony to the legacy of the church, practicing what it professes. And I expect that the folks of Trinity Church have similar stories to tell, because in our time together we have come to know that we share the same sincere desire to not just profess our faith but to practice it, in our internal affairs, yes. But especially as it relates to the equality and dignity of all people whatever their circumstances. Just an aside: This faith commitment, this desire to fully profess and practice the gospel, it is not present in all churches, not even all UCC churches.
We heard how Mary Byrd began her three year term as moderator a bit unsettled at how things began to unfold. At the end of her term as moderator, having lived through some of the inevitable ups and downs of church life, Mary Byrd had this to say:
“This is my third annual report. . . . I am happy to have been a participant in the activities of this church in a leadership position; to have gotten to know you and to be a member of this friendly church.
“Thanks to all of you for your friendship and support during the past three years as Moderator. It made the job a lot easier. I know you will continue to give the same support to our new Moderator, William Parsons.
May God be with you always,
Mary Byrd”
May we continue to always and ever be a true church of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 