October Down By The Riverside

From Koshy Mathews, Interim Rector

Dear Members and Friends of Gloria Dei,

On Sunday, September 27, we, the members of Gloria Dei, gathered for our Annual Meeting, delayed for few months due to COVID. We heard the impressive reports of the activities and accomplishments of our various committees.

Gloria Dei continued its winning ways even into this year despite the not so ideal situation we currently are going through. In my sermon last Sunday, I talked about the importance of being aware of what truly makes up the church. It is neither the physical structure nor the priests who come to serve here. The church is the people. The current members are entrusted with the mission of the church and are expected to hand it over to the next generation in as good a shape or better than how it was when you received it.

Following the service, I was asked,” Where is the next generation you were talking about that we can hand this church to?” I was at a loss for words. It is a big challenge for us. If it is of any comfort to us, we are not alone in this regard. It is a widespread phenomenon. Many young people are not interested in what we are doing in the church as it is not relevant to them and not what they are concerned about. It is a serious concern that we must address. Perhaps the new vestry can take on this as a challenge going forward beginning during this interim.

This interim period is unlike any other time for us. As a society, we are in a time of enormous stress and strain. COVID 19 pandemic has so far claimed more than 200,000 lives, and we don’t see any downward bend in its trajectory. Certain historically dehumanized minority communities have become disproportionately more vulnerable to getting infected and dying; the pandemic has unwittingly exposed a fault line of our society, systemic racism. Further exacerbated by minority unemployment and unequal application of justice by law enforcement on minority populations, the Black Lives Matter movement has once again sprouted all across the United States, though this time with the support of the conscientious white community, especially young white people. Our Episcopal Bishops have spoken about the prevailing systemic racism in our society and called on its members to study and repent our racist past, and to make amendments to the ways of our being in church and society. At Gloria Dei, we will be studying the book,” How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi beginning on Wednesday, October 7. I am encouraged to see that some of us have signed up for this study, recognizing that one cannot be a Christian and a racist at the same time.

On Sunday, October 4, we celebrated the feast of Saint Francis, the patron saint of the environment. In the afternoon at 2 PM, we held a short service at the amphitheater and blessed pets and animals. My Sunday sermon touched on creation care. I am encouraged to see Gloria Dei has a Green Committee which is engaged in the work of protecting and caring for the environment.

Later this month, on Sunday, October 25, at our service of Eucharist, we will honor and remember the crew of SS Poet, the ship which mysteriously disappeared in the sea in 1980. I look forward to this tradition, unique to Gloria Dei, a maritime church in addition to its Swedish past.

I thank God for allowing me to sojourn with the wonderful people of this great church, Gloria Dei. Let us partner with God in doing God’s mission from inside the margins of this great American city of Philadelphia.

Blessings,
Koshy