“Saints Like You and Me” by Rev. Nancy Mills (USA 2006)
Although [Wisdom] is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God….—Wisdom 7:27
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” —John 15:15
Dear Friends,
Jesus called us “friends.” The message of the Book of Wisdom is that even before Jesus walked the earth, divine Logos/Wisdom worked in people’s souls to make them “friends of God.” As friends of God we become siblings in Christ, a community connected by the Holy Spirit.
I write to you now with immense thanksgiving. Knowing you in this New College Berkeley community of Christian faith and study has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. My husband Steve and I moved to Berkeley just as David Gill, Earl Palmer, and others were bringing the hope for a new college in Berkeley to fruition. We happily joined that community of people seeking to follow Jesus in thought, word, and deed.
Through the decades you have helped me better receive the work of God’s grace in my life and notice it in the world, striving alongside you to facilitate the work of truth and love. We are truly woven into the “communion of saints,” that fellowship of holy souls throughout time and around the globe which was first mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed, now about sixteen centuries ago. I’ve always appreciated that in the Creed the words “I believe in the communion of saints” are closely followed by commitment to “the forgiveness of sins.” All of us who participate in communities know that forgiveness is crucial. Hurt and betrayal—intended or not—are common. So, too, however, are forgiveness, gratitude, and hope. These are practices we can always offer to the world, and practices that become refined in our life together.
Called to be friends of God, we are members of the body of Christ, who day by day, more and more “are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:22). In a time in the world when the body politic is sorely divided and we learn every day the tragic history of the church’s complicity in structural racism and economic oppression, we are invited to be branches in the vine of Christ, bearing fruit in the world and offering shelter under our canopy which is a dwelling place for God as well as a welcoming space for people. Or so it ought to be.
How can we aspire to such lofty hopes? How can we be rooted and grounded in Christ so that we bring blessing to the world? Truth-telling, repentance, forgiveness, and the grateful, hopeful acceptance of grace are spiritual practices that aid spiritual health in communities, and I’ve been privileged to witness and be shaped by them during decades in the New College Berkeley community.
We have been rock on rock, iron sharpening iron as we’ve grown up and hoped to mature in Christ. This year we lost (at least) three important saints who worked for and shaped New College: Ward Gasque, our founding president and professor of New Testament Studies; David Fetcho, long-time retreat-leader and artist-in-residence; and Beth Henry Criss, faithful and exceedingly accurate bookkeeper and registrar.
Each of these saints in our small communion taught me about prayer, forgiveness, and hope. As president, Ward cast a wide and inviting vision for the ministry, and he also dealt with financial instability and political turmoil. His large heart, keen mind, and deep laugh spoke to me of rootedness in Christ. His stride was long, he never nurtured resentment, and he seized each day with faithful hope.
David, too, shaped New College with his creativity and keen mind, and like Ward, he was large-hearted. I remember a retreat committee meeting which began in prayer and devolved into the exchange of angry words. David was able to embrace truth-telling, repent of bitterness, extend and receive forgiveness, and collaboratively create a retreat of beauty and grace.
Beth worked scrupulously on details and numbers, faithfully walking up to the third-floor office, mail in hand, and settling in front of her computer for long hours. I heard her patiently untangle knotty issues with service providers, tenants, landlord, and program participants with anxious questions. I saw her do so through all seasons in her life, including debilitating treatments for cancer. Her faith fortified mine.
These are just a few of the people in our particular corner of the communion of saints who have brought the fruit of the Spirit into my life and our community. I’m sure you’ve encountered many other people who have done something similar. And you have done so! Like the apostle Paul, I “always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our [my] prayers. We [I] remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).
This is the witness the world needs, especially now as we ache from the long season of isolation due to the pandemic and reel from the social toxins of hatred and fear. We long for the One who calls us “friends,” thus entwining us in community. So, dear friends, “we gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing!”
Blessings to you, in Christ,
Susan
Susan S. Phillips, PhD is Executive Director of New College Berkeley and Core Doctoral Faculty at The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley