The Theme of Service Embodied in the History of Saint Nicholas Mission
by Marcus Lawson
Thesis Statement – Memory is one of humanity’s supreme endowments. Each of us acts today and hopes for tomorrow in the light of past experiences that have been woven into a life-story. When we want to know someone else, we ask that person to tell us something of the story of his or her life, for in this way personal identity is disclosed. To be a self is to have a personal history. This is what defines one’s uniqueness. In a larger sense this is true of human communities, especially those in which people are bound together primarily by shared experiences rather than natural factors like blood and soil. (Anderson, 1986, p1)
It is by reviewing the history of the parish at its website (www.themissionparish.com) that I came upon three themes embodied in the single theme of service; which is most expressive of the parish:
Dedication to Service – The theme of dedication to service speaks directly to the history of the mission of Saint Nicholas Parish. This dedication is self evident in the growth of the Parish. Growth is synonymous with love, and love of service is the hallmark of dedication to that service.
Transition & Foundation – It is the passing on of the Apostolic call of being a servant of Christ to his flock that defines the transition of the call to serve.
Growth – The Mission Parish’s growth is multi-dimensional. Their outreach is reflective of who it serves. The love of Christ is founded upon the love that God shares for his creation through the sacrifice of his Son. The growth of the mission is aided by God’s love.
Conclusion – It is the combination of a dedication to service, transition & foundation and growth embodied in the single theme of service that prepares Saint Nicholas Parish to continue to serve.
Be Creative Telling Your Story
My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours. Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories in all their particularity, as I have long believed and often said, that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally. If this is true, it means that to lose track of our stories is to be profoundly impoverished not only humanly but also spiritually."
-- Frederick Buechner in
Telling Secrets
