October 15, 2016
Dear Members of the Body of Christ in the parish of Emmanuel Church,
Blessings! As we gather our memories and our hopes to prepare for our stewardship drive, we stand as witnesses to the great ongoing mission of the church. Our memories hold remembrances of those who went before, inspired to support the church as they were able. Our memories hold remembrances of hard times, joyous times, gifted times - of occasions that now make us chuckle, or weep, or repent, or be grateful. Whether the times we remember are fifty years ago, or ten years ago, or just last month, they hold meaning. As we see what it is that gives meaning, as we see where the Holy Spirit is actively creating, as we see where we are the Body of Christ, serving the Body of Christ, it is there that we find the inspiration to support this great mission. It is there that we can begin to discern reason for hope, witness to the Holy Spirit moving and inspiring us. That hope is the basis for a lively commitment to stewardship. So I ask you, where, when, and with whom do you find that hope?
I have been with you for only one month. As the newbie, I’m still learning how to listen to both what is spoken and what is unspoken. In this context, where do I recognize that reason for hope? I recognize it is the devout, unassuming service of those who minister on Sunday as ushers, altar guild, Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, instrumentalists, choir, acolytes, and worshipping congregation. I recognize it in the ministry of Fellowship Hour, both those who provide the food and those who welcome each other in Christly friendship. I recognize it in the ongoing ministry of the vestry and the Wardens. I recognize it in the thoughtful questions I was asked by the Search Committee. Where have you recognized the footprint of the Holy Spirit in our life together, our worship, our ministry?
Stewardship is what we, as Christians, do. We take care of something we do ourselves own, something that is precious to God. We are called to stewardship as an act of freely cooperating with the Holy Spirit to “renew the face of the whole earth”. As parishioners, we are called to invest time, treasure, and talent. Faithful stewards of God’s bounty, we are called to prayerfully consider how best each one of us can support this particular parish, this particular congregation, this particular mission of God. God is a God of Abundance, unstintingly generous. One way we can reflect the image of God is to ourselves be generous out of gratitude, joyful that we can contribute.
How much should you pledge? That is between you and God. Tithing is a healthy spiritual practice, as long as it is an exercise in reflecting God’s abundance, not an exercise in either guilt or legalism. Determining the percentage that expresses what is meaningful for you and distinguishing what to include and exclude in the calculation is a spiritual exercise. It is a discipline that opens the door into remembering who you are and whose you are. Remember that when I lay the offering plate on the altar, your lives are represented, incorporated into the offering of Holy Thanksgiving that is the Eucharist. “Offering our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice…”
Because we also pledge time and talent, we also connect our participation in worship with God’s mission. Walter Coles has written a document “For Emmanuel: Illustrative Goals and Committees”, the purpose of which is to inspire our imaginations and conversations. The vestry supports this challenge as a framework in which we can imagine and plan for our way forward as a lively, Christly parish. It challenges us ideas that are both grounded in what Emmanuel is and what is could be. It is an invitation to you to participate in the life of the parish in new ways, an invitation for you to express your own ideas and desires for the parish.
By including this challenge in the stewardship drive, the vestry invites you to be part of activities that will make a visible difference in our parish life. Prayerfully consider where in those ideas you might find the connection with your gifts and passions. How are you making visible the life-giving gifts of the Holy Spirit? Is there something in the document that resonates as a possible new ministry for you? These committees and activities will be opportunities to bring us together in common purpose for our mutual wellbeing and the wellbeing of the larger community. Several committees will be outward looking, finding partners in the community, seeking to serve the community. Several committees will be inward looking, making sure that all members of the parish are knit together with bonds of mutual care. Several committees will be focused on the stewardship of our church property. As with fiscal tithing, the spiritual exercise of holy discernment is necessary in guiding someone to commit time and talent. We are all in this together. We have diversity of personalities and gifts precisely so that we must depend on each other.
I look forward to writing the Rector’s Stewardship Letter next year, to report on the myriad of diverse missions our parish has provided through the year, thanks to the generosity and creativity of the parishioners taking up their call to be good stewards of God’s abundance.
Yours in Christ,
(The Rev. Dr.) Regina Christianson+