The Gift of Showing Up

In 2012, I found myself in the Episcopal Church. I remember the intimidating sound of words I had never heard before echoing through the pews, the pulpit, and the halls.

Then, after being confirmed in 2013, someone popped the question:

"Would you like to serve as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, Tara?"

My mouth hung slightly open. I was puzzled by the title and wondered if I needed to go to school to earn it. The Episcopal Church, in its "Catholic-Lite" form, can be a little confusing. Sometimes we wonder whether we really fit in.

Well, here's some good news: you don't have to fit in. You don't have to know all the words, understand every tradition, or feel perfectly qualified. What is required is something much simpler.

You only have to show up.

As we look around our church today and consider everything that happens here each week, it is easy to wonder how it all gets done. That question can also take us back in time to the early Church and how those first Christians figured out how to be the Church.

I imagine there were many moments when people simply gathered around a table to work out the logistics of receiving and sharing God's love. Someone needed to welcome newcomers. Someone needed to care for widows. Someone needed to organize meals. Someone needed to tend to the practical details so the community could flourish.

In the Book of Acts, as the community grew, the apostles realized they could not do everything themselves. Instead, they looked to the community and invited others to help carry the responsibility. The Church was built not by a handful of experts, but by ordinary people willing to offer their time, gifts, and presence.

It takes a village to make a village happen.

As we look ahead to another year at All Saints Episcopal Church, we find ourselves in a similar and beautifully human moment of planning and invitation.

I want to share a transparent update on how our leadership team, our Vestry, is shaping up for next year while also reflecting on what it means to give the gift of showing up when a community needs us.

What Is a Vestry?

To many people, the word vestry sounds intensely formal. It may bring to mind images of corporate boardrooms or ancient committees.

At its heart, however, a vestry is simply a team of fellow parishioners who care deeply about their church community.

Together, the vestry tends to the practical and administrative aspects of parish life. We oversee finances, buildings, policies, and legal responsibilities. While these tasks may not always seem exciting, they create the foundation that allows the ministry of the church to thrive.

In many ways, vestry members help ensure that the lights come on, the doors stay open, and the mission of the church can continue to grow.

Under the canons of the Diocese of Western North Carolina, a vestry needs at least five members to function fully. Looking ahead to next year, we currently have five people serving: myself as Priest-in-Charge, a Senior Warden, a Junior Warden, and two elected lay members.

While we are grateful for these dedicated leaders, the vestry alone never sustains a healthy church. The truth is that every ministry in the church begins with someone deciding to show up.

Someone showed up to sing in the choir.

omeone showed up to prepare the altar.

Someone showed up to teach children.

Someone showed up to serve at a food pantry.

Someone showed up when a neighbor was grieving.

Someone showed up when a newcomer walked through the door wondering if they belonged.

The Church has always been built this way.

Most of us don't start by feeling qualified. We begin by saying yes to an invitation.

My own journey certainly did not start with expertise. It started with confusion over the phrase "Lay Eucharistic Minister." Yet that simple invitation opened the door to deeper relationships, greater faith, and a stronger sense of belonging.

That is often how God works.

God rarely calls the already-prepared. Instead, God calls people into community and prepares them along the way.

As we enter this next season at All Saints, I invite you to consider where God might be calling you to show up. Not because we need perfect people. Not because you have all the answers. Not because you know exactly what to do.

Simply because your presence matters.

The gift of showing up may seem small, but it is one of the most generous gifts we can offer. Communities are strengthened by it. Ministries are sustained by it. Lives are changed by it. And often, our own lives are changed as well.

After all, the Church was never meant to be something we watch from a distance. We create it together, one faithful yes at a time.

An Invitation to Coffee

If you feel the Spirit quietly nudging you, please don't ignore it.

Let's grab coffee or tea at Gilmore's, or at your favorite place. There is absolutely no pressure, obligation, or expectation that you'll walk away with a specific commitment. It is simply an opportunity to talk, ask questions, explore possibilities, and discern together whether your unique gifts might align with a need in our parish at this season.

Sometimes showing up begins with something as simple as a conversation.

Thank you for the many visible and invisible ways you already sustain, love, and breathe life into this congregation. Whether you serve publicly or quietly behind the scenes, your presence matters more than you may realize.

Only by grace,

Tara+