Rah! Rah!

From time to time the role of the parish priest is to be a cheerleader—to try and get people excited about something—sometimes that something lacks it’s own intrinsic excitement—and for some reason (unknown to me) the Annual Meeting is one of those things.

I know that people can quickly grow tired of meetings and that, for many, an annual meeting seems particularly dreadful. Let’s not forget that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were gathered in a meeting (in a meeting!) when the doors flew open and the Holy Spirit rushed in like a rushing and loud wind and rested on those gathered there.

Why would anyone miss going to a meeting if there’s a possibility that God’s Holy Spirit might show up?

The purpose of an Annual Meeting is to review the past year—both in terms of our finances and our programming. Not all of us are terribly excited about this, but it’s not really about being excited It is about being open and honest with one another about what we’ve been up and whether we’ve been up to God’s vision and mission for us. It is also an opportunity to think about what’s coming up and making appropriate plans.

Okay, so maybe thinking about our vision and mission, and the possibility that the Holy Spirit will be there isn’t enough of an enticement. Think of it this way: it’s a family meeting and generally speaking family meetings are not optional. Frankly, I can’t make anyone attend the Annual Meeting—I can only suggest it as something that is important for us to participate in. It’s a way of showing our support to the life of the parish. And, believe it or not, it is never as bad as we imagine it will be. How’s that for a cheer? “Not as bad as you imagine!”

Now I can’t promise that the Holy Spirit will make an obvious appearance, but there will be pancakes, syrup and fellowship. o