FATHER NORM’S RETIREMENT SERMON

September 29, 2002

  LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF.  I am Fr. Norman Ishizaki and I like to be called Fr. Norm or Fr. Norman or Norm or Norman.  I am the rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal church – for one more day, at which time I will retire.

                    Thank you to each of you for coming to celebrate my ministry here and to help me give thanks for the privilege of serving you and God in this faith community.  Christ has been in my heart as profoundly as Christ is certainly in yours.

 THE THEME FOR THIS SUNDAY IS THANKSGIVING AND NEW LIFE.  I hope this will be the lasting legacy of my rectorship.  St Alban’s has been, and I pray will continue to be, a place, a community where lives can change.

 THE FIRST LESSON SETS THE BASIS FOR the theme for this day.  You recall Lisa reading:  “I will appoint Peace as you overseer and righteousness as you taskmaster.”  And then further along: “…the LOD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.”

                    If there is ever anything that sets the tone for thanksgiving it is this declaration found in Isaiah.  I am thankful for so much you have brought to me and so much you have chosen to do in the name of Christ.  The point is that I know whom to thank!

                    I don’t know who people thank who do not have God as their everlasting light.

 THE SECOND LESSON, READ BY MY SON-IN-LAW, DAVID, happens to be one of Velda’s favorite portions of Scripture.  It is in fact a prayer.  Read it, pray it, meditate upon it at your leisure later.  How can we pray this better?

                    “…may (God) give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.”

 AND THEN THE GOSPEL read by our good friend, Winnie.  In that Matthean portion of the Good News Jesus says this:

                    “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than  these;”

                    Yes, you have done greater works than Christ could have done by himself.  You have done greater things because you have Christ in your lives and as a faith community witness in powerful ways.

                    I always wondered how I could do more than Jesus.  And yet as part of this faith community I do know that justice, and mercy, and acceptance, and forgiveness, and grace have been given content and flesh.  Words, which now have a greater meaning than ever before.

                    I give you one example: inclusiveness.  This is a community which not only says it is inclusive, but acts and witnesses and give inclusiveness a great context.  Everyone is welcomed and embraced here – it matters not gender, age, race, sexual orientation – it truly matters not.

 I RETURN TO MY THEME FOR TODAY: THANKSGIVING AND NEW LIFE.

                    I cannot, of course, name each of you to whom I owe thanks for making this day special.  Your presence alone makes my heart soar.

                    On a personal level Velda, Lisa and Craig have been here with you, and you have seen us grow together.  I do not know how God plans these things, but I could not have been the person I was, or be the person I am, or become the person I am yet to be without them.

                    Velda and I have plans for the immediate days ahead in the embryonic days of retirement.  We have placed an offer on a home in Manhattan Beach.  Yes, this is still in the 310 area code!  We had not expected to make a move this soon, but the house whose location and type we wanted became available.  It is not quite in the category of extreme fixer upper, but it does need a soul.  We plan to infuse one into it in the days and years ahead.

                    But, of course, part of our soul will ever remain here. 

 I WISH TO THANK THE VESTRY and those who set this morning up – what a job.  And to think I did not have to run around in the background!  And to Jill Baldauf who managed all the persons around the food and patio – what can I say?

 FOR THE LITURGY I WANT TO THANK Greg Pottie and the anonymous donor who provided the trumpet for this morning.  Frances, you are a good friend, and to hear your voice just lifts my spirits.  Thank you.  And my long time friend and your organist choirmaster, Jim Vail, I owe so much as music provides such an offering to the glory of God.  To have this service blessed with this choir and music – I cannot say enough.  The prelude this morning is Craig’s favorite Bach organ piece.  The Masters of Ceremony who have served St. Alban’s and made my life possible liturgically and otherwise, Jane Frischer and Vivian Hay.  You are quite aware of their contributions and I am doubly thankful they can be at the altar for this occasion.

 AND TO MY DEAR FRIENDS WHO HAVE made my life so fulfilled with their advice, counsel, and support personally and the ministry here, I cannot say thank you with enough hyperbole.  I wanted to have each of you to say something, but I also wanted us to have brunch and not dinner!  But thank you for being here – especially those who have come from distances.  I hope you see and renew some old acquaintances.

 IT IS ESPECIALLY MEANINGFUL TO HAVE TWO priests involved in this service.  First Ray Fleming who is rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal church in Laguna Beach.  Ray is one of my longest time priest friends and a special person to me and to Velda and the family.  What a joy to have him share and participate.  I am happy many of you have the opportunity to get to know him and his wife Marcia.

                    Winnie, who is now the Episcopal Chaplain at Columbia University, traveled here to be with us.  She was on our staff, and I have to say one of the best priests to serve here, period.  What a flattering blessing to have her with us this morning.

 THE SYMBOL OF BAPTISM IS NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.  I thank Laura Toole Torres and Rob for bringing their new baby here to receive the sacrament of Baptism.  I have known Laura since her early childhood, married her and Rob, and now have the privilege to Baptize their baby.  This is the cycle of life I am so pleased to be part of, and one, which only comes with a long time pastorate.  So I thank them and it leads naturally to the concluding thought of this sermon:

                    Please take special note of the answers to the questions, which we will together respond to as we renew our Baptismal vows.