When all is said and done…

A letter from Doug Baker serving in Northern Ireland

Autumn 2016

When all is said and done.…..

A lot was said and done, but I am left with two comments buzzing in my mind and warming my heart.

Each year congregations in Northern Ireland hold a Harvest Service. There is special music. The church is decorated with flowers, vegetables and fruit. Attendance even goes up! I was thrilled to be the guest preacher last Sunday for Whitehouse Presbyterian Church’s Harvest. They knew our retirement is approaching and wanted to mark it. Gracious words were said and they gave theatre tickets to me and flowers to Elaine. It was lovely! However, I accepted the invitation because I wanted to say thank you to them for so wonderfully embracing and nurturing a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer each of the past 11 years. While they naturally benefited in various ways from doing so, what really has impressed me is that they saw it as part of their “mission” to that individual, to the wider church and to the world—because of what that YAV would do and be long after leaving Whitehouse.

I have been reflecting a lot about 23 years of working with YAVs. There have been many positives. There have also been some volunteers who seemed to be getting little out of their year or were at times quite frankly a pain. Then years later I have heard from those same individuals, sharing something wonderful they are doing and they tell me it is an outcome of what they experienced or learned during their YAV year. And I am left thinking—“When did that happen?!” When did this person get it—recognize the importance of some seed sown during their YAV experience and make the connection with what it is producing now?

So I read the parable in Mark 4:26-29 about the kingdom of God growing when we are not conscious of it and when we don’t understand how. For my theme I took “Grown in Northern Ireland—A Harvest of Young Adult Volunteers.” As part of my sermon I shared some highlights about what the 133 YAVs who have served here have been up to since then. The statistics are fascinating:

Nine are studying, six of them in seminary. Thirty-seven are ordained minsters. Seventeen are employed in non-ordained positions in the church. Eighteen are teaching in elementary through grad school. Twenty-six are in social work or work with charities or nonprofits. Seven are in various forms of medical care. Most of the rest are working in industry, business, as lawyers, parenting full time, or self-employed. The Whitehouse congregation was genuinely glad to hear all of that, but what interests them most is their 11.

Therefore a few weeks ago I sent an e-mail and asked each of the 11 to send me one example of something they picked up during their time at Whitehouse that they have made use of since. All of them replied. One by one I shared with the congregation the connections those YAVs see—in their own words.. Rarely have I sensed a congregation so attentive when preaching!

It was fun for all of us, going down memory lane and getting caught up to date with largely good news stories. However, in conclusion I said: “I want to challenge you not to look back, but forward. In their comments I hear your past YAVs affirming you for what you have given them, but also calling you to continue to be the very best of who you are—who your faith makes you. This harvest we remember how others planted a seed in these young adults about the importance of serving God through serving others. They responded by committing themselves to a year as a YAV, you nurtured them, they grew, you also grew, and the Kingdom of God is still growing through them and through you—and will continue to do so.”

At the door and over coffee one member after another told me how this or that particular YAV had impacted the church or them personally. The comment that one woman whispered about one of the volunteers really hit me: “Nobody knows this, but she offered to clean my house or do whatever else practical would help when my husband was seriously ill. Of course I didn’t need her to do that, but it meant the world to me for her to offer.”

After the service I sent a copy of my sermon to the 11 past volunteers. I wanted to let them know that I appreciated their responding and had made use of their input. A comment I have received in response from several of them is one warming my heart: “Thank you for reaching out and giving us a chance to share one more time in thanking Whitehouse.”

It is hard to think of many relationships where there has been such mutual awareness of what each has received from the other as is evident between Whitehouse and their YAVs. However, when all is said and done that awareness of mutuality of giving and receiving is a core principle upon which PC(USA) World Mission is built. As you approach Thanksgiving this year I encourage you to consider making a gift to support the YAV program worldwide (E049075).

Faithfully yours,

Doug Baker