Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
The Reverend Shearon Sykes Williams, Saint George’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost/Retirement Sunday, September 14th, 2025
Wow, this is amazing! Thank-you so much to each and every one of you for being here today. It looks like Easter! You all know how much I LOVE a packed church, and what a lovely gift you have given me in making that so today. Thank-you, from the bottom of my heart, thank-you. And I am so grateful to our family for being here today, our children, granddaughters, son-in-law, my brother, sister-in laws, and nephew. I can feel the love from everyone, lots of love, my love for you, your love for me and for Robbie, and most importantly, the love that all of us have for God and for this wonderful faith community. We have dwelled in that love for the past 15 years and it has been such a blessing, but that love story actually began many years ago….
Once upon a time, 1908 to be exact, long before high-rises and Metro lines, long before affluent residents with graduate degrees, a humble, faithful group of working-class people in the little villages of Ballston and Clarendon started worshipping together on the porch of someone’s home. They had a priest from the Falls Church, just a few miles away, who led services for them, but they wanted a church in their own neighborhood. They worked hard and raised money and Saint George’s Episcopal Church was born. Over the years, various rectors have served for a period of time, partnering with the parish to do God’s work. Each period has brought its own joys and challenges. World War I, World War II, the vicissitudes of life only a few short Metro stops from Washington, and many changes, both inside and outside the church. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and Saint George’s opening her doors for people to sleep on the parish hall floor who were here for the Poor People’s March on Washington. Women beginning to serve in lay leadership roles starting in the late 1960s, the first women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church in 1974, a new Book of Common Prayer in 1979, the founding of Iglesia San Jose in our chapel, the first Spanish speaking mission in our diocese, which is still going strong today, the election of the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in 2000, and through it all, Saint George’s has wrestled with all of the questions of societal change and all of the questions of faith that those changes pose. The Reverend Hedley Williams, who was the rector here from 1945 to 1973, during many of the changes, external, and internal, said this about Saint George’s.
“Always in turnover, always in ferment, like yeast. New people, new ideas, give no chance to get stale or in a rut. Saint George’s seems to have room for all points of view.”
These words still ring true today. Saint George’s is still a vibrant, engaged, faith community, that maintains our down-to-earth, unpretentious way of being, that has been with us since our founding, as we strive to live out our Christian faith in our own day and time, putting into practice Jesus’ commandment to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, working for justice and peace, respecting the dignity of every person, especially people who have different ideas and beliefs than we do. And that is exceedingly important, especially when we are living in an era when people are increasingly resorting to violence against those with whom they differ. As people of faith, we are called to do the hard work of loving others and striving for the common good.
The foundation of our life together in Christian community is our love for Jesus and our love for one another. Saint Georgians are easy to love, which is why there have only been four rectors here since the 1940s. The Reverends Hedley Williams, Bob Hall, Ron Crocker and me. And whomever you call next will be welcomed into that love, just as you welcomed me. As Saint Paul reminds us today in his First Letter to the Church in Corinth,
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth…The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose…For we are God’s co-workers, working together.” 1 Corinthians 3: 4-11
What then is Hedley? What is Bob, or Ron or Shearon? A spiritual leader is important in any given church community, but it’s not about us, it is about the ministry that God has called us ALL to do in sharing the good news of Jesus with a world very much in need of the healing love that he offers us. And as you enter this transition period, it is especially important to remember that it takes everyone, each and every one of you working together.
Our 15 years together have been such a blessing to me. God has done many things through our life together, growing in our understanding and expression of inclusion as a Gospel value, the renovation of our nave, which made our worship space more accessible to all, and the installation of our new organ that helps us to lift our voice in joyful praise to God. And all of this in addition to baptisms and weddings and funerals and ordinary Sundays when we came to church and prayed, sang, listened to Scripture, received communion, shared our joys and challenges with friends, and went home with the peace that passes all understanding that we didn’t have when we got here that morning.
Paul reminds the Church in Corinth that Christian community is a partnership. The basis of the Church is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the people of each age build upon that foundation that was laid over two millennia ago.
My prayer for all of you today, my friends, is that you will continue to build on that firm foundation that Jesus laid, and so many others have built upon, continuing Saint George’s witness through your faithfulness, gratitude, generosity, and most of all, love. And as you have heard me say many times before, faithfulness, gratitude, generosity and love are spiritual practices. Faithfulness looks like showing up, coming to church even when you don’t feel like it, because that is when we need each other the most. Showing up with all of your questions, your doubts, your belief, and seeking the wisdom that 2,000 years of Christian tradition offers. Gratitude looks like thanking God for the gift of each new day and expressing thanks to the people in our lives in very specific ways every day. Generosity looks like having a kind and giving spirit toward others and giving as generously as you are able of your time and money in order for Saint George’s ministry to continue to grow and thrive. And love looks like worshipping God and caring for the needs of others, knowing that every person we meet bears Christ ‘s image, and trusting, trusting with all your heart, that God really can overcome hatred through the power of love.
Because love is much more powerful than hate. It is the greatest force in the universe. God created the world and all of creation out of love. Love binds everything together. God made us out of a desire to be in relationship with us and longs for us to live in peace with others. Jesus came to show us what that looks like. And we do our best to walk his path of love, but life is hard, life can be very hard, and there is so much in this world that tries to pull us away, that pulls us away from that loving center that is deep within each of us, where we hear that still small voice that tells us, “I delight in you. You are my beloved.” We forget, every week we forget, so we come back to church on Sunday to be reminded again, and again, and again, that we are the apple of God’s eye and that we are called to operate out of that love as we work for justice and peace in this world that Jesus came to save.
I feel confident, my friends, that you will continue to love one another until your new Priest-in-Charge is called in early 2026, and far into the future. I know you will love and support your gifted Associate Rector, Mother Karin, as she loves and supports you. I am confident that you will encourage our wonderful wardens, Liza Lowe and Victor Tolomeo, our treasurer, Lisa Green, the Priest-in-Charge discernment committee, chaired by Darren Hekhuis, and all of our amazing ministry leaders, along with our talented, committed staff, Dr. Ben Keseley, Jenice Jones-Porter, Elena Keydel, Wardell Mills, James Petway, Maurice Williams , Malek Wyatt and our livestream director, Kevin Crawford. God is leading Saint George’s into a hopeful future as you continue to love God and love each other. Thank-you, my dear friends, for the love you have shown Robbie and me these past 15 years.
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth…The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose…For we are God’s co-workers, working together….For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3: 4-11
