Jacki Boedecker is a longtime member of the Church of the Redeemer and is the Church School Coordinator. She is the Lay Leader for the Christian Formation pillar of the Taking Your Place initiative at Redeemer. The personal story below is the text from the talk Jacki gave at the potluck Take Your Place dinner on the night of the 2009 Parish Meeting.
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Have you ever watched a master carpenter work? Taking rough wood, the Master Carpenter uses his hands to make thousands of fine adjustments until he gets the wood to take exactly the shape he wants — the shape he imagined in his mind even before he began. The end product is an extraordinarily formed piece – beautiful and useful – that brings joy to its Crafter and to others.

Let us pray:

“Jesus, Master Carpenter of Nazareth, who through wood and nails has
wrought our full salvation:
Wield well thy tools in this thy servant –

That we who come to thee rough-hewn may be fashioned to a truer beauty
and usefulness.” Amen.

In this prayer by former Arch of Canterbury George Carey, Jesus of course is the Master Carpenter. Each of us starts as a splintered, unfinished piece of wood. God’s hands seek to form us to become channels of His Grace and Light for the world – forming us into the people God created us to be. God forms each of us through relationships in which we share His love with each other.

God provides many formation experiences – the first of which is your family. My family – its values, traditions, rituals – it’s story – helped formed me. Yours helped formed you.

Just like the families that brought us into the world and helped form our identities, personalities and attitudes, the church — as a family of God — has the mission of helping to form Christians – as Children of God. He calls us to more than teaching adults, youth and children to read OF God in church school classes on a Sunday morning. He wants us to find ways to ENCOUNTER God – through prayer, worship, the sacraments, scripture, serving others, caring for one another, confession and absolution, fasting and abstinence. Here we experience the grace of God’s unconditional love, and it is through this grace – given and received – God is able to form us into the people He created us to be.

Sometimes, we are being formed as Christians – and sometimes we are called to form others – sometimes without knowing we are doing so –

There is a story written by Annie Sullivan after she had accomplished her incredible breakthrough with Helen Keller. After teaching Helen how to communicate, it was imperative to Annie to convey the concept of our loving Father. As she tried time after time communicate the image of God, Annie became incredibly frustrated. Helen, finally able to comprehend what Annie was trying to do signed back to her: “Oh don’t worry about telling me about Jesus. I already know Him!” A Formation experience of the risen Christ to be sure.

Right here at Redeemer after the devistation of Hurricane Katrina, out church school teachers and students wanted to reach out to our sister parish in Biloxi, The Church of the Redeemer. All the children knew the picture which is now etched in out mind’s eye – The rector conducting the Eucharist the morning after the storm in the area that once was the nave of the church, all that was remaining were the two huge iron beams which once held the roof. Our children decided to re-stock the church school supply cabinet – with everything from paper, markers and crayons to new Christmas pageant costumes. And along with the goods, handwritten notes went from our children to theirs. One Redeemer 3nd grader’s hand wrote a note to the children of Church of the Redeemer, Biloxi, which had been devistated: “I know you are sad that your church is gone. But remember – you can still have a church without a building, because God’s church is made up not of wood and nails and bricks – God’s church is made up of His people.” No scripture or verse quoted here, but the essence of God’s grace in the this little one’s note shows us that Christian Formation takes place in God’s Children of all of ages when we least expect it.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. When you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you truly seek me. I will be found by you.”

For each one of us “rough hewn pieces of wood,” God has a unique plan. And I’d say we are all a “work in progress.” But I take heart in the words of Oswald Chambers:

“Faith never knows where it is being led. But it always knows and loves the One who is leading.”

Our task is to yield to His touch and allow him – through classes, small groups, service to others, pastoral care, evangelism, sharing Christ – to shape us into the people he intends us to be. Like a master carpenter, may we welcome Christ as He forms us into his image, yielding to his gentle and powerful touch.

Let us pray:

“Jesus, Master Carpenter of Nazareth, who through wood and nails has
wrought our full salvation:
Wield well thy tools in this thy servant –

That we who come to thee rough-hewn may be fashioned to a truer beauty
and usefulness.” Amen.