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| Zion Episcopal Church, Manchester, VT |
Many churches in our diocese experience an attendance lull
during the summer, with folks traveling on vacation and business and leisure
taking them away from home for periods at a time. Yet the opposite is true for
Zion Episcopal Church in
Manchester. Manchester is arguably the richest
parish in the state; it is considered a resort town. A good number of Zion’s church members make
their summer residence in Manchester. In
fact, to accommodate the increased numbers, Zion has an extra Sunday service
held in their satellite chapel, St. John’s Chapel in the heart of Manchester
Village. But Zion isn’t stirred by
wealth. To be sure, having parishioners wealthy enough to offer to have the
church buildings painted is a very nice perk, and Zion certainly appreciates
them. But it is not what stirs this
parish.
As I sat in the sanctuary waiting for the Wednesday service
to begin, I thought about my impressions of Zion and what special grace God has
bestowed upon this church. I felt welcome—but I feel welcome in just about any
Episcopal church, especially those within this diocese. I felt peace, and here I thought I might be
getting somewhere. The complex of Zion
Church includes beautiful glass-paned corridors connecting the church to the
two parish hall buildings. The windows let
the light, color and warmth of the daylight pour in and warm the bones and soul
of one passing through. The genteel elegance of the receiving room continues in
that theme of soothing comfort. The
large “Middle Room” is a jumbled collection of cushioned chairs and sofas that
are arranged in several cozy circles. In
fact, all of the rooms, including the Sunday School rooms upstairs and the
pre-school room in the back have a comfortable feeling of hominess. The atmosphere created throughout allows one
to relax and open up to the possibility of goodness and certainly contribute to
the overall sense of “here is peace.” The
Wednesday service is also a healing service, and concentrating on that, I was
persuaded that this was the key. Zion’s
stirrings involve healing. During the
worship service, the small congregation gathered around the altar and shared
Holy Communion and human communion. As
we held hands with one another, linking us all together, we asked for God’s
healing grace to reach those on whose behalf we interceded. This is a common
enough practice and many congregations pray for others in need and have faith
in the power of prayer. But what makes
Zion different in my own experience is the absolute depth of faith in the
expectation of God’s healing grace. Zion’s
congregation is made up of folks who have been healed, who are in the process
of healing, and who need healing—healing from physical, emotional, mental and
spiritual ailments. So to them, there is no doubt that of course God will send
His healing Grace.
Periodically, Zion invites special guest healers to visit. Not too long ago in March, Fr. Roy Henderson
of from
The Ministry for the Renewal of Love and
Mercy made his second visit to Zion to conduct a healing service. Fr.
Henderson is a Catholic priest who, upon receiving the gift of healing after a
pilgrimage to Lourdes, established his ministry with the express purpose of
sharing the person of Jesus Christ through evangelization; that through Christ,
true healing can happen. When Fr. Henderson offered his worship service at
Zion, part of the service included prayers with laying on of hands. Some of the members admitted skepticism that
hands-on prayers could be any more effective than any other kind of
prayer. But having witnessed the results
of this particular healing service, they set aside their skepticism. What they
witnessed was not a miraculous and dramatic lame-shall-leap, blind-shall-see
type of cure. What they witnessed was a
deeply sincere caring communicated through human touch from one member of the
body of Christ to another. And that
communication allowed for a closed or doubting heart to be opened or moved, to
accept God’s grace and God’s love. To witness such a wonder is the kind of “ordinary”
miracle that keeps faith alive.
As I stood hand-in-hand with the small Wednesday afternoon
congregation, with the variegated rays of color
shining through the lovely
stained glass windows—each of which depicts a piece of a story conveying God’s
healing grace—I came to understand that God’s Spirit stirs in Zion Episcopal
Church through the love and faith and touch of each member, and the conviction that
the healing grace of God is manifested through them.
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