Introduction of Bob Dannals
On Sunday morning, May 22, 2001, the Rev. Dr. Robert S. Dannals, Rector of Christ Church Episcopal in Greenville, was the guest proclaimer in worship at First Baptist Church. Somehow in the wisdom of God and the foolishness of humankind, it happened to be the Sunday on which the congregation of First Baptist voted to call me to serve as its senior minister. Bob, I confess that in the anxiety and tension of that day, I do not remember a word you said. But until the time comes that I begin to forget everything I have ever known, I will always remember your presence here that morning, and I will always be grateful to God for the friendship and collegiality, the mutual support and pastoral care that we have offered each other since then as we have sought from God and from each other courage and encouragement for the living of these days.
I heard that someone asked at Wednesday evening at supper at First Baptist, “Why is the rector of Christ Church Episcopal speaking on the anniversary of the founding of First Baptist Church?” The answer is simple. Christ Church Episcopal is First Baptist Greenville’s slightly older sister church. I think that a case can be made that over the last century and three quarters, no two of Greenville’s five original “land-grant churches” have had more or closer ties, as for example, when Baptists "married up" and Episcopalians "married down." Our congregations have been sisters in support of each other even in those times when we have been intimate rivals of a sort, as sisters can sometimes be.
One of my favorite stories in A.V. Huff’s history of Greenville recounts a chance meeting between Ellison Capers, who was rector of Christ Church from 1867 to 1887, and James Pettigru Boyce, a distinguished member of First Baptist and a professor in the Theology Department of Furman University.
Christ Church and First Baptist have a long history of contributing to each other’s ministries by mutual support and encouragement, and Bob, we are grateful to you for your presence here this morning as sign, symbol and substance of great relationships past, present and future.For twenty years Ellison Capers lived and served in Greenville. Early in his tenure he decided to appeal to a number of wealthy parishes in the North for financial aid. One day in New York City Capers met James Pettigru Boyce, his Greenville neighbor, on the street. When Boyce inquired about Capers's success, Capers replied that after his last sermon only one five-dollar bill appeared in the collection plate. To which Boyce replied: "And I your neighbor put that in" (A.V. Huff, Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont [Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1995], p. 207).
Prayer of Hope for the Future
All loving and everlasting God, creator of all that was and is and yet will be, the first movement of our heart and soul and mind and strength toward you in love is in praise and gratitude, honor and glory to you and you alone.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
O risen and living Christ, in whose promise to be with your church always, even to the end of the age, we trust, grant in the days and decades to come the blessings of your presence, your guidance, your direction and your correction to your people called First Baptist Church.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
O Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on the fellowship of those who are called by your name in this place to unsettle and nudge and set hearts ablaze in faithful worship and education, missions and ministries in this and every generation.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty, forgive, we pray you, this congregation when in times to come as in times past individually and collectively we fail you, we fail ourselves, and we fail those to whom we are be called to minister.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
Maker, Redeemer and Sustainer, cultivate ever anew in this congregation the Christ-like compassion to take children in and bless them, to welcome prodigal sons and daughters home, to offer loaves and fishes to those who hunger, to extend a cup of cold water in Christ’s name to those who thirst, to shelter the homeless, to care for the sick, to clothe the naked, to visit the imprisoned, to befriend the lonely and to comfort the grieving.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit, call forth in this place both now and in the years to come courageous teachers and preachers, prophets and servants, visionaries and builders, stewards and ministers one and all, for whom to know you and to serve you and your church is their greatest joy and enduring passion.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
All loving and everlasting God, creator of all that was and is and yet will be, the first and last movement of our heart and soul and mind and strength toward you in love is in praise and gratitude, honor and glory to you and you alone.
L: Lord, in our hope for the future,
R: Hear our prayer.
Amen.
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