The Presentation of the Cross of St. Catherine’s

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Joan Nixon

The awarding of the Cross of St. Catherine is always a deeply meaningful act for me. I take seriously this responsibility and attempt to exercise it with forethought, integrity, and a healthy sense of joy.

The Cross is given in recognition of individuals who have significantly contributed to our life together and our mission to serve God in Jesus Christ. You will find a list of those who have received the Cross in years past and I hope you will agree that they have served St. Catherine’s with distinction.

The second Cross this year goes to someone who has served St. Catherine’s faithfully over these past nearly 8 years I have been here. It is hard to characterize this individual’s contribution in one particular area of ministry. One is just as likely to find her in the kitchen cooking with friends as in the board room leading a training session. One is just as likely to find her weeding the garden as cleaning a bathroom – we all remember those days a couple years ago. But wherever you find her she is fully present, focused, and more times than not laughing.

One of things I have been fond of saying over the past year since the completion of our building program is that the buildings in general and the sanctuary and parish hall/kitchen in particular are a living testimony to the fact that buildings can be built by committee. In all steps along the way we took the time to build consensus about the design of the buildings. It took us longer, no doubt, but by most measures the results in the sanctuary and the kitchen – in particular – are outstanding. And it was done by committee. And one reason the committees worked was the training they received from this recipient of St. Catherine’s Cross. Her mark on us will be forever enshrined in the memorable words heard during many a building committee meeting, “Okay, let’s see the thumbs.”

Joan likes to say that she is the chair of the “fun and games” committee. She, however, is the chair of the fellowship committee and convener of the Parish Life Ministry Team. Through her effort over these past 8 years we have continued to build community at St. Catherine’s as we devoted ourselves in the words of scripture “to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The efforts of this group have continued to bring us closer together by providing diverse opportunities for us to know one another and to share laughter and joy – in her words – to have fun and games.

I don’t know what a Rector’s wife looks like in the minds of many. But I do know that Joan has found and continues to find ways to carve out her own ministry in a large and complex congregation. For most she denies stereotyping as she has contributed to our life together at so many levels. What I admire about her ministry is that it’s her ministry. She is her own person. She is unwavering in setting clear boundaries and going about contributing to our life together in ways that fulfill her own vision of what it means to “welcome, accept, nurture and serve all people.”

I suppose that my time of sabbatical might well have been a time of her sabbatical as well. While we didn’t talk about St. Catherine’s all that much when we were together or when we spoke over the phone, I was constantly amazed at how she continued to be a part of this community in terms of her involvement in worship and leadership.

Joan has contributed greatly to my understanding of leadership and management. Her contributions to Wellstar Health Systems has always had a side (and in my mind more important) benefit – her contributions to this Rector and therefore to this congregation. Her words “none of us is as smart as all of us” has forever found its way into my leadership. It has marked my journey as a priest and contributed significantly to my profound sense of justice and the need to embrace diversity. It is with a deep sense of honor and joy that I present the Cross of St. Catherine to Joan Nixon.