It’s September and we’re back to work and school, and to church. The pews were full again the Sunday after Labor Day, and the choir was vested and singing. Backpacks were blessed. The kick-off picnic was favored with bright clear and cool weather and plenty of food materialized.

Many of the same people we know at church as usher or greeters, lay Eucharistic ministers, church school teachers, committee members, organizers of dinners and get-togethers and Bible Study groups, have (or once had before they retired) high profile careers in our Nation’s capital, in government agencies, in international organizations, in business, in advocacy, in Congress. Our congregational life is enriched by the skills and time they generously contribute. People accustomed to respect of high position and recognition serve humbly and anonymously behind the scenes or on the front lines at church.

During one recent week Facebook posts or Twitter Tweets revealed three Saint Georgians publishing or quoted in national media sources. One member wrote about criteria for nominees for commissioners of the agencies that oversee Wall Street (http://www.citizenvox.org/2015/09/10/in-search-of-excellence-the-presidents-current-choices-to-oversee-wall-street/). The spouse of a member was quoted in the New Yorker, and is frequently heard as a “talking head” on NPR whenever the topic of tax reform comes up or on other economic issues. (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/24/the-short-termism-myth).

Another member was cited in a Washington Post article on encryption technology to ensure data security (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/09/10/the-crypto-wars-of-the-1990s-are-brewing-again-in-washington/). He also saw his partner sworn in as a new US Ambassador. Fortunately his frequent international travel as an expert on the internet will take him often to Europe, but when he is at home, you will see him at Saint Georges announcing a bike ride or a First Supper or greeting newcomers.

Other members work in the local community in influential positions, including the executive director of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing who was recently featured in a StoryWorks video produced by Housing Virginia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtUkA8OcC5I). Members serve on boards and advisory committees of county government and non-profit organizations. In addition to the social outreach activities St. George's sponsors directly (Host, food pantry, VOICE), Saint Georgian's volunteer throughout the community and in schools and PTA's.

This is nothing new for Saint Georges. A member was the principal of the first language immersion elementary school in Arlington. Many years ago, the principal of Stratford Junior High School at the time it was the first school in Virginia to integrate after the period of massive resistance was a Saint Georgian. A member working for the Federal Transit Administration oversaw the Federal investment in the construction of the Silver Line. At the Vestry retreat in 2009 two Vestry members tended to their Blackberries during breaks and conversed in their shared alpha/numeric language of the statutory citations for the Recovery Act programs that they were helping to implement at two different Federal Departments.

Many others work in equally important if less heralded jobs in the community, teachers, program administrators, bankers, lawyers, volunteers, homemakers.

Our life at Saint George’s over the years has been enriched by the contributions of many who were just passing through Arlington for a few years in the course of foreign-service (State Department) tours, working for the World Bank or International Monetary Fund, or attending Graduate School or professional development rotations.

At church, though, the titles and honors of our day jobs don’t matter, nor do the burdens and responsibilities that weigh on us. We come together as equals in Christ, each giving what we are able and taking what we need to go back into the world, forgiven, refreshed, renewed.