The seasons change. The weather changes. And we cycle around once more to a time to focus on gratitude. November brings trees changing color, cold nights, Thanksgiving and the stewardship campaign. In the time I have been your pastor, we have never made a big deal of promoting stewardship. We have not needed to. For whatever reasons, ours seems to be a congregation that understands the need to undergird our life together with financial resources.
When asked about our church, I tell people we are located in the most expensiveneighborhood in a very affluent city. Our neighbors are the Page and Jobs families. However, I am quick to offer the disclaimer that those kind of wealthy people do not make up our congregation. We are not particularly affluent. We are ordinary folk. But we are generous with what we have. We recognize that our life as a congregation depends on that generosity.
A while back we took a vote of confidence in the future of our congregation and decided to work toward renewal. There are many good and exciting things happening in our space and a significant number of those things are generating income to keep us functioning. It has been particularly exciting to watch the growth of iSing – Silicon Valley Girls Choir under our sponsorship. Other groups continue to enjoy and value our hospitality. They frequently comment on the “good vibe” that comes from sharing our space.
Our long awaited patio project is underway. The sound system upgrade is on the drawing board. We have a dedicated group of leaders and committed, creative staff, including our interns. We have hard‐working task teams, one of which is our Renewal Task Team that is focusing on our future. It is a difficult time anywhere to function as a church in ways with which we are familiar. We are challenged to find ways to be a church that responds positively to God’s call to faithful creativity. Renewal may well cost us something moving forward, at least during the time it takes to live into a new reality. We may be called on to invest in our future.
Gratitude, stewardship, support, sustenance, compassion – these are all characteristics and qualities that call on us to step up our generosity to the degree that we can. We know that some of us are simply not able to give more than we already do. For that level of commitment, we are grateful. That level of commitment enhances deeply the quality of our life together. At the same time, there may be some of us who can give more to sustain our community. As I said last month, it simply takes all of us to be us. Our present and our future depend on us all pulling together to make this the congregation God – and we – want it to be.
You’ll see other places in the November Spire that our stewardship theme for this year is “Found Faithful – in Little, with Much, with All.” The text is 1 Corinthians 4:1‐2 in which Paul urges the church at Corinth to keep the faith in the face of many complicated challenges: “Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” The “us” of Paul’s encouragement is all of us – you and me included. We are called to be and we have committed ourselves to living as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. As I mentioned a few Sunday’s ago, we have a story to tell, a witness to bear, compassion to practice, wisdom to share. It is essential that we continue to be faithful to the enterprise, even if we’re not entirely
sure of where we’re headed.
To be faithful in little, if that is what we have to offer. Remember trees grow from small seeds. To be faithful with much. Whatever our limitations, we are still blessed far beyond most folk on this planet. To be faithful with all. Trustworthy stewards make the most of everything with which they have to work. So we thank God for what we have been given, we pledge ourselves to share as generously as we possibly can and we trust that God will take our gifts and multiply them for the work of God’s realm in the ways that only God can. As God’s people we are blessed to be part of the system of support for God’s church. Let us bless as we have been blessed.
Pastor Rick
