Three Observations
As we prepare for worship this Sunday, I’d like to offer three loosely connected observations.
First, as we conclude our season of stewardship this weekend, I’d like to offer some thoughts on why we ask members to make pledges of financial support, as many Christian traditions don’t follow this practice.
Making an annual pledge allows us, as families and individuals, to evaluate our current spending patterns, and prayerfully submit them to the Lord. This is a good exercise, as our spending patterns often reveal our priorities in life. Being asked to make an annual pledge of financial support to the congregation gives a regular opportunity to do this.
Also, making an annual pledge allows us to evaluate our participation in the life and ministry of our congregation. Financial support is but one way to be involved, and, hopefully, thinking and praying about financial support will lead to thinking and praying about other ways to support the mission and ministry of Christ Church, from regular attendance in worship, to joining a small group, to participating in outreach ministries. An annual evaluation of our participation can be an opportunity to become more deeply involved in the life of our congregation.
Finally, on a purely pragmatic level, having a sense of what people plan to give allows us to have something on which to base our 2017 budget. Since our inception we’ve taken the pledged amount, given a best guess of “unpledged” offerings, and also taken prudent steps of faith, believing that God will provide as we step out with a clear vision.
It is important to note that a pledge of financial support isn’t like getting married. We understand that life situations can fluctuate, often times dramatically – job changes, family crises, and relocation can impact both the ability and the wisdom to fulfill a pledge, which we totally understand. In fact, if you ever find yourself in need of an “adjustment,” please let us know, as we desire to support and encourage one another as we walk through the unpredictability of life.
Please bring your pledge card to worship this Sunday (if you don’t have one we’ll have cards available), and, in the meantime, please do continue to reflect prayerfully on your priorities in life, which are often clearly indicated by your spending patterns. As you do, please reflect on your participation in the mission and ministry of our congregation, not only financially but in other facets of our life together.
Second, in the Prayers of the People this Sunday we’ll add, “Donald, our President-elect,” after “Barack, our President.” The election is over, and, however we might feel about the result, we’re commanded in scripture to pray for our leaders. As Paul writes to Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Like most Americans, I’ve moved through a range of emotions since Tuesday night (although everyone’s range has been different), and today I’m mindful of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s conviction that the church is to be neither the master of the state nor the servant of the state, but rather its conscience. The task of spiritual formation, then, includes becoming the kind of people capable of bearing witness to God’s heart for the world, especially the most vulnerable, in word and deed, regardless of our identification with a particular party or candidate, regardless of the personal cost. This kind of spiritual formation is essential for American Christians going forward, and this would have been true regardless of the election’s outcome.
As we begin to pray for President-elect Trump – and, after January 20, 2017, President Trump – I’m committed to begin with the words of Psalm 72, in which we read a prayer for the king: “May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy . . . For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.”
Finally, as we observe Veteran’s Day today, here is a slightly adapted prayer from the Book of Common Prayer: “Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad, those currently serving and those who have served. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
As we enter this new season of our national life, the church will have new opportunities and new challenges to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (see Matthew 5:13-16).
I believe that God is doing great things in our midst, and desires to do even greater things. May we all move into these greater things together, eagerly and expectantly seeking God, and watching what he will do.
Peace,
Chris