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From the Rector

The Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams

Dear Friends,

Part of the jumble of feelings I have been sorting through since September 11 is gratitude. Some of it is 'selfish,' being grateful that most of the people I know and love did not lose their lives or a family member or their jobs as a result of the terrorist attacks. But much of it is simply a deeper sense of thankfulness for the gift of life, for each new day, for what is most important.

Life is something that by nature we take for granted. Since we do not remember coming into being and since we can never have been conscious of not existing, we take our lives as a given, a necessary part of the universe. We did not have to be born, of course; and given the incredible number of complex circumstances that had to happen in a particular order (over countless generations), it is amazing that we were. Each of our lives is in a real sense a miracle, a gift that we did nothing to make happen or deserve.

Nor do any of us, no matter how young or how healthy, have any guarantee of a continued earthly future. Today, to state the obvious, might be our last day. Some day, we know definitively, will be. In all of history, there has been not one exception, including for Jesus.

For however long life lasts, however, each new day is a gift, in some sense unexpected and certainly unmerited. Those who impulsively got on the down elevator in the World Trade Center have a deep sense of that. They know they do not deserve to live anymore than their co-workers, anymore than any of us do. Each day is simply to be received in gratitude. Each day is to be fully lived.

I find that these days I am praying more, listening more to others and conversing more, singing with more energy. I am less invested in the outcome of athletic contests, more engaged with others' hopes and disappointments, less obsessed with my 'to do' list, and more focused on living faithfully as a grateful child of God. I still fail many times, of course, getting impatient, missing opportunities, shutting others out, ignoring God, straying from a grateful attitude to one of demanding 'my due.' But a deeper sense of gratitude helps me be more ready to accept forgiveness, less inclined to take myself too seriously, more inclined to trust to God's powerful and loving grace as what really matters.

A big part of what I give thanks to God for is you, the parish family of the Chapel of the Cross. I am grateful for your spirit of worship, your commitment to service and your care for each other, your lively sense of humor, your generosity with all that God has given you. Thanks be to God for all of you.

- Stephen

© 2001: Chapel of the Cross