In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is something deeply appropriate about hearing these readings just before our Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

For many people, the APCM can seem like a very practical affair: elections, reports, finances, safeguarding, buildings, committees, and minutes. Necessary things, certainly — but perhaps not obviously spiritual things.

Yet today’s readings remind us that the life of the Church is never merely administrative. The Church is not simply an organisation that happens to pray. The Church is the Body of Christ, alive with the Holy Spirit, called to bear witness to the risen Jesus in every generation.

Which means that even electing churchwardens, PCC members, and officers is not just about filling positions. It is about discerning gifts for ministry. It is about asking who God is calling to help lead and serve this parish in love and faithfulness.

In the Gospel, Jesus says:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

And immediately he speaks of the gift of the Spirit:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.”

Love for Christ is not simply a feeling or private devotion. Love becomes visible in faithful service, in obedience, in perseverance, and in care for one another. And we are not left to do this alone. Christ promises the Advocate — the Holy Spirit — to guide, strengthen, and sustain the Church.

The disciples hearing these words were anxious and uncertain. Jesus is preparing them for his departure, and they fear being left alone.

But Jesus says:

“I will not leave you orphaned.”

That promise still holds true for the Church today.

Every parish experiences change. Faithful servants retire. People move away. New challenges emerge. Sometimes we wonder whether we have enough energy, enough resources, enough people, or enough vision for the future.

But Christ has not abandoned his Church.

The Holy Spirit is still at work through ordinary people willing to say yes to God’s call.

And often the Church flourishes not through dramatic moments, but through quiet faithfulness: someone willing to keep the accounts carefully; someone willing to prepare the church each week; someone willing to serve on the PCC; someone willing to visit the lonely; someone willing simply to pray faithfully for the parish day by day.

These things may seem small, but in God’s hands they become holy.

Then in Acts we see Paul standing in Athens, surrounded by temples, statues, and competing philosophies. He notices an altar inscribed “To an unknown god,” and he declares to them the God they have been searching for without fully knowing.

And Paul says those beautiful words:

“In him we live and move and have our being.”

That is the heart of the Church’s mission.

We are not here simply to maintain an institution or preserve a building, important though those responsibilities are. We are here to help people discover that their life is found in God.

Every PCC discussion, every church meeting, every election, every practical task should ultimately serve that greater purpose: helping people encounter the living Christ.

That gives dignity even to the ordinary business of parish life.

One of the great temptations for churches is to think only in worldly terms: success or failure, growth or decline, efficiency or influence. But the Gospel calls us first to faithfulness.

Jesus does not say, “If you are successful, you love me.”

He says:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Love expressed in faithfulness.

And so as we gather for our APCM, we do so not merely as members of an organisation attending an annual meeting, but as disciples seeking together to follow Christ in this place.

We give thanks for all who serve this parish so generously and often quietly.

We pray for those willing to stand for election or continue in office.

And we pray for ourselves, that the Holy Spirit would guide this parish with wisdom, patience, humility, courage, and joy.

Because the promise of Christ remains:

“Because I live, you also will live.”

The future of the Church does not finally depend on us alone. It rests in the hands of the risen Christ, who continues to dwell with his people through the Holy Spirit.

And therefore we may serve not fearfully, but hopefully.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.