Dear Friends,
Having talked a great deal in recent years about Federated’s call to “change lives,” I explored in a recent sermon (Oct. 16) several dimensions of our lives that get changed in true transformation. When life and faith are transformed, we find that we’re engaging more with God; we see the hand of God in our lives as we look back at them (the dots get connected, so to speak, and we sense a holy power working for good in them); and we’re called to a ministry of care and support for people in various states of need.
As we come to November’s stewardship campaign, it’s worth remembering that a transformed life also has to do with the way we handle our money. If you’re like me, you may well always have thought of your money as yours. As a child, you were given it as an allowance. As an adult, you earned it. And there’s a very real sense in which that money belongs to you. It is yours and mine, and we have it, to some extent, because we have labored for it.
A transformed faith, though, comes to see that, in a deeper sense, that money is not really ours at all. On one level, it’s certainly true that we have earned it by the work we have done. But on another level it’s even more true that that money has come to us as gift. Many of us received an allowance as a sign of our parents’ love. We receive a salary by virtue of gifts we didn’t create and as a sign of someone else’s value for what we do. We could just as easily be disabled and unable to work. We could be in other jobs that paid less. We could be in another country and live in abject poverty. But we don’t. For reasons difficult to fathom, most of us receive a more than comfortable wage. And much of it for things we cannot control.
So when it comes time to think about pledging to this church, I always try to remember that I have more than I can really say I deserve. I have been blessed by circumstances beyond me. And the only real way to think about what I have is to give thanks for it, and to return a sizable portion to the work of God through Federated Church.
As Stewardship time comes upon us, I invite you to take seriously the extraordinary giftedness of your life, and to give accordingly. If you tithe (give 10% to the church), thank you. If you are moving toward a tithe, thank you. If you give at any level, thank you. But if you have not yet begun that journey toward tithing and you really want to know a transformed faith, let go. Let go of some of what you have and let it be used for the gracious work of God here at Federated and beyond. Your life will be different. Your faith will be different. And the world will be a better place. Together, may we pledge generously. It will be a big part of our ongoing transformation as children of God.