Christ The Servant
Catholic Church
Cold Springs, Ontario
Homily Selections
Gary's Anniversary
Well, good morning and Happy Anniversary Gary.
Have you ever chosen to do a task that was at the same time very difficult and very easy? Well, that’s where I am this morning.
Trying to capture and honor the essence of Gary in the only two hours that I have given myself to do this is very tough because as one of our community (who prefers to remain anonymous) says “If I live forever, I’ll never know his depth.”
My task is easy because I asked for help from my friends, more specifically from your friends who are also your flock. And so, Gary, with love and peace and joy, this is from all of us.
It seems fitting to begin with words from Lawrence who commented that when Gary became our pastor, there was no transition. He fell in like he had been a priest for years. It seems natural for him to be a priest. (I believe he has been a priest for years, Ordination just formalized his life long vocation)
Heather notes that this past year with Gary as our spiritual leader has taught her that it is possible as a community to listen and respond to the promptings of God when the leader is a mature adult who is committed to living a life of integrity immersed in intentional social justice. She goes on to say that Gary’s gift of collaborative leadership has fostered an attitude of adventure on this communal spiritual journey. Liturgy has been enriched by thoughtful incremental changes and a deep connection with ourselves, the community, and the global community in which we live.
Heather takes the letters of Gary’s name and produces an apt prose G is for a genuine and authentic human being. A ...attuned to self, community and the world. R....relational and connected to the historical past, the present, and the future. And Y ..the ability to say YES which means living into the unknown and unrevealed demands of dangerous unselfishness.
And so now you know that in addition to all of her other talents, Heather is also a poet!!
There are consistent themes in what we feel about our pastor. New to many of us, and awe inspiring is is Gary’s commitment to social justice issues around the world. As Heather speaks of the deep connection he has brought with ourselves, the community, and the global community in which we live, Nancy and many others notes that Gary has been a passionate advocate for social justice and has brought this passion to his church family. He continuously echoes the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes and lives them in his daily life. And as Nancy says, what a great gift to our parish to have a pastor who truly follows Jesus in word and deed.
She also notes that we have all been witness to Gary’s involvement in social justice issues around the world. He works tirelessly for those in need both abroad and in our own community. Recently, as Gary was helping a refugee family through their struggles, a CtS family also required his attention at the same time and he also responded to their needs. Nancy marvels , as do we all , at his energy and ability to make time for everyone This is a true calling of an exceptional pastor.
As Don and Rosemary put it “Gary doesn’t just read and preach the gospels, ....He lives them. He knows how to get us to go beyond our comfort zone and become disciples and live the beatitudes. Gerard adds “Gary challenges us to reach out beyond our own community to help others in need.” And isn’t it amazing that the more we reach out beyond our comfortable pews, the more we enrich our own lives, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. I think that’s what Christianity is about... as we say in our Mission statement, loving God and loving God’s people.....all of God’s people
It strikes me that Jesus never referred to himself as a King, it was the other guys that did that, and then they went on to build a hierarchy to emulate that perception. The thing about hierarchy is that is always leaves people at the bottom. Gary doesn’t do that. He sees us all as pastors and inspires us to minister to each other. Now that’s real empowerment. At best, he might accept a designation as “the first amongst equals”
Now, if we were to give each other nick names, Michele’s would surely be “power point”....so it was no surprise to me when I asked her for a contribution that I got back an outstanding power point. She said “When I think of Gary, these words automatically come to mind
HONEST,
EARNEST
CONSIDERATE
CARING
FUNNY
INSPIRING
SUPPORTIVE
DARING
HUMBLE
WARM
WELCOMING
HELPFUL
STRONG
CHALLENGING
TRUE TO HIS IDEALS
COMFORTABLE,
ALL UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF DANGEROUS UNSELFISHNESS
BUT ALWAYS THE MAN IN THE PLAID SHiRT.
And Michelle added a sentence “It has been an honour, privlege and pleasure to call you pastor and friend. Congratulations on the 1st anniversary in your call to a new life.
And then there is Pauline.....Mrs. Pastor who in many ways had a very difficult task because those of us who came from a Roman Catholic tradition didn’t know how to relate to a “Mrs. Pastor”. Pauline taught us how to do this easily with her warmth and caring and generosity, her belief in and love for Gary. She is Gary’s equal in love and integrity. As Gerard said “Along with Gary CtS gets the very best catholic priest’s wife in the whole world!!”{Alison also celebrates the obvious love Gary has for Pauline despite his teasing.
It makes one think of the phrase “Behind every successful man stands a very strong woman..........or was that “surprised woman!!!”
Kathleen and Virginia want to say “Gary has made many of us realize how fortunate we are to have the freedom of choice to worship in an inclusive and welcoming faith community. He has helped us to recognize the privleges we
have in supporting social justice issues without any real sacrifice or danger to ourselves. He makes us think about how some people really are in danger and we, in our security are not, but he has encouraged us to do our best when we can.
And then there is his humour. Everyone commented on how important and joyful Gary’s humour is. Nancy marvels that he can somehow find room for laughter in the midst of any situation. She notes that his deep belly laugh is purely contagious and helps diffuse any difficult situation , and that his relentless teasing of our parishioners demonstrates his great love for us and we in return love him and tease him back. Don and Rosemary see Gary’s sense of humour as a reminder that God wants us to be happy and Hanna agrees.
Hopefully, that will be of solace to Kathy who jokingly told Gary one Sunday morning that she she had been “at the legion the night before and danced all night with guys who were feeling no pain at all” so if she happens to miss Mass Kathy tells me that Gary tells everyone that he “Hopes Kathy hasn’t run off with one of those Legion guys!!”
Alison treasures his ability to laugh at himself and not take life so seriously and honours his conviction to help others before himself....not just when it is comfortable to do so, but truly to put others first.
Carol and Murray recall first learning about Gary through his teaching career. Although neither of their children were taught by Gary, they, like so many others who were not in his classroom were touched by him.
They often read with interest excerpts in the newspaper about speakers, forums and other events and it struck them that his enthusiasm and unique teaching style must have awakened a desire to learn and been a source of pride for many students and teachers alike.
In their 36 years of marriage they have often moved and been associated with many parishes . Seldom, they say, have they seen a priest who was so compassionate, understanding and available to the congregation they serve.
So say we all.
Both Peter and myself wrote letters of reference for Gary when he was seeking ordination. Our words were very similar. Pete spoke of being struck by the commitment of Gary and Pauline to fairness and and justice..of being impressed by his stance regarding social issues that showed a clear and indepenfdent interpretation of Christ’s message.
As we know our spiritual journey has not been without challenges and through it all Gary has demonstrated profound spiritual leadership, depth and inspiration. It was Gary who stood up and was willing to pastor our community. His gentle loving style strengthened our membership and allowed us to move forward. His calm presence, humour and caring nature shone through giving our community a sense that everything would work out if we continued to trust in Christ and ourselves.
Gary is a man of exceptional faith, intelligence and integrity. His communication skills are strongly inclusive and ecumenical and exist comfortably with independence and open mindedness.
At a time when our world is crying out for faith leaders of courage and vision, this man of gentle strength carries Christ’s message of peace, love and joy to every person he touches. There is no question that the Holy Spirit was at work in Gary’s decision to seek ordination.
Nancy notes that we spent many hours in prayerful search of our pastor and God more than answered our prayers guiding us to look within our own parish. We give thanks to God for Gary and Gary, we offer you our peace and love.
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