God is found in the most unlikely places??

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ICorinthians 13:4-7

Having worked with many different churches over the past seven years, I have been to many and varied annual meetings. Last Sunday at St. Stephen’s was one of the best. But that is not what I expected. First of all they hold their annual meetings during Sunday worship, using the meeting instead of the traditional sermon. How, I wondered can the tedium and tension over elections and money possibly draw our attention toward God?

Secondly, I already knew there had been some tension the past year over issues that involved both control and money. Sermons are always a good place to address the role of these twin sins in God’s Kingdom, but was this the best place to address such things in the particular?

Finally, last month at the Ministry Support Team – the place where all the ministries share information and planning – it had been decided that they would try something new this year and set the annual meeting within the context of celebration. I couldn’t help but wonder if this meant they were going to avoid all the issues from the past year, something churches tend to do only to have them come back making things even more difficult.

The meeting lasted an hour and a half, but no one seemed to get restless. Everyone had a chance to speak. Several of the most difficult issues from the past year were addressed without much tension. And eight new people who have attended church for quite a while but haven’t been active in the ministries of the church stepped into new roles. Amazing!

What followed was a real celebration. Each person was given a small bag of m&m’s for mutual ministry and a party favor horn. Then each ministry was named – including the ministry of presence – and placed within the liturgy of the Prayers of the People as everyone ate candy and tooted their horns.

The celebration at worship ended with the Eucharist and then everyone went downstairs to the parish hall where ice cream Sundays and cake were served. It was a great day!

Who were the people in this story and how do they show God’s activity?