Psalm
78:1-39. He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which
he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation
might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their
children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works
of God.
Who are your Faith Ancestors? Who passed The Story to
you? Who taught you to set your hope in God?
Each of us has a unique story and faith journey. Some
among us are cradle Episcopalians. Some, like me, have a mixed heritage from a
variety of Christian denominations. Some, raised in other faith traditions, are
exploring Christianity among us. And some in our midst, with little or no faith
background, are searching and learning The Jesus Story.
No matter our background or our place in the journey,
most of us can remember the first person that shared The Christian Story with
us. Some learned about Jesus and the traditions of the Church from parents and
grandparents, one generation passing the story to the next so their children
would “set their hope in God and not forget the works of God.” Others of us (me
included) learned His Story from clergy, teachers, and friends.
My parents were not religious. My father never attended
church; my mother rarely. They had five kids in six years. Mom found it
convenient to drop us kids off at a nearby church on Sunday mornings so she
could do her weekly grocery shopping without five little ones in tow. There, at
that little neighborhood church, a gray-haired, grandmotherly Sunday school
teacher told me the Story of Jesus when I was five and my life-long journey of
faith began. Despite the lack of spiritual training in my childhood home, God
amply supplied my needs through a long list of Faith Ancestors, some with skin
and some found only in the pages of books. Then when I became a mother, I
passed The Story on to my three children. When they were little, I wrapped them
in my arms each night, read the Stories of Jesus then sang them to sleep with
the old hymns of the faith.
As we journey through this Lenten season together,
let us remember that God is calling us into His Story and wants us to pass The
Story to future generations. Let us be thankful for our personal and collective
Faith Ancestors. Let us gather our little ones into our arms and sing God’s
Story and love to them. Let us fulfill our congregational vows to pray for the
newly baptized in our midst and assist them in their spiritual journey. Let us
personally and collectively set our hope in God. And pass it on.
— Stephanie Curry
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