Jonah and the Annual Meeting

by the Rev. Kate Atkinson

We all know the story of Jonah: God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh, Assyria’s capital, and warn the people to repent of their wickedness and turn to God.  Instead, Jonah boarded a ship for Tarshish – and through a series of misadventures ended up in the belly of a fish. Three days later, after Jonah had repented of his cowardice, God caused the fish to vomit him safely onto dry land.  Then God instructed Jonah, for the second time, to go and prophesy to Nineveh. Jonah obeyed, the Assyrian people repented, and God had compassion on them.

Jonah’s change of heart came about through a series of realizations.  He realized that there is no escaping our all-seeing God; he realized that his poor choices affected other people; he realized that failing to take a risk may have seemed like a safer option but it resulted in disaster.  And he realized that acknowledging his mistakes, and seeking God’s forgiveness, gave him the ability to start again in an entirely different frame of mind – and when he did that, he got results.  It was a transformation.

Transformation, by definition, begins when we’re in one condition and ends with us in a different condition.  But it’s more than simply a process of change.  After all, it’s simple enough to change our actions without any fundamental change in our thinking or our motivation.  The story of Jonah is about letting go of everything that holds us back from doing what God calls us to do – from being who God created us to be.

The story of Jonah is familiar, quirky, even amusing, but above all it’s a profound reminder of an all too human response to God. 

When we sat down to lunch together before the Annual Parish Meeting, we were asked to share stories of experiences we’d had during the past year. Many of those were Jonah-like experiences! It’s important for us to hear these stories from each other because almost invariably we recognize some of our own flaws and mistakes.  And when we hear how other people overcame their failings, it gives us hope that we can overcome ours. 

If you read St. Paul’s Annual Report for 2014, you’ll find lots of stories about people stepping out of their comfort zones, people discerning God’s call to new and challenging places, people taking risks and letting go of things that might hold them back.  And over this new year we’ll discover many more opportunities like these.

I wonder, what stories will we have to share at next year’s annual meeting?  Will we throw caution to the wind or will we end up in the belly of a fish?  I can’t wait to find out!

Below are some pictures of the members of our church community who turned out for our Annual Meeting - and the great hospitality team hard at work in the kitchen!