The Rev. Gary Barker (second from right) visits with parishioners.
By Susan Paynter
On Sunday, April 29, the Reverend Gary Barker joined us to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and to become acquainted, afterward, during an extended coffee hour. The visit was one step in the Rev. Barker’s quest to find a new church family and Emmanuel’s simultaneous search for a priest to fulfill our pastoral needs.
In his sermon, Gary confessed that Good Shepherd Sunday has not historically been one of his favorites. He has felt it’s an interruption in the continuity of the Sundays of Easter. But he said that he’s beginning to come to terms with it, gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation.
He reminded us that sheep don’t go willingly where the shepherd bids. There’s a reason, he said, for the shepherd’s crook, with its hook on one end and sharp prod on the other.
He further related our difficulty in leading a Christ-like life to the poetry of the Victorian poet, Christina Rossetti, whose feast day had fallen two days before on the liturgical calendar. Gary read the final stanza of her poem, “A Better Resurrection”:
My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish'd thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.
There’s no doubt that Gary Barker drew us into his deeper understanding and appreciation of Good Shepherd Sunday.
Coffee hour was a pleasure as always, with good food and good company. There was a lot of talking, telling of tales, catching up and laughing. Parishioners provided mushroom quiche, ham biscuits, tabouli salad, fresh strawberries, cakes, cookies, brownies, bars and peach pie!
Gary took the time to visit with us individually and in groups of two, three or four. Certainly he must have gotten a good feel for who we are, and vice versa: all in all, a successful day.
