Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For the past several months, a new ministry has been unfolding at St. Mary’s.  The members of the newly formed “Stewardship Committee”   have been reading, studying, praying and growing in faith.  They have engaged me in dialogue about stewardship – the fundamental Christian experience of living our faith.  They have challenged me, encouraged me, and shared with me an exciting vision.

Here’s the thing:  as a priest, I have never found it easy to talk about money.  I have never found it easy to challenge people about how the spend their time or use their gifts and talents.  I, too, have been praying, reading and studying alongside the folks on the stewardship committee, and I have been blessed for it – abundantly!

Gina and I have had conversations about our own financial life – about the amount we give to our respective parishes.  We’ve been challenged to look at our own consumption of goods and resources.  We’ve been led through our reading of the gospel and prayer to examine how and why we spend and how we spend our time and use the gifts God has given to us.

In the gospel Jesus gives the false god of money a name:  mammon.  Jesus states quite clearly, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.”  (Matthew 7:24).  It’s the truth.

Who or what do we serve?  What has priority in our lives?  As we come to this time of asking for a commitment to the mission and ministry of the parish from our members, we do so boldly and with confidence.   This is not merely a request to give to the mission of St. Mary’s Parish, but it is also a challenge from our loving God.  In fact, you need to give as much as the church needs you to give! Why do I make this assertion?  It is in giving our resources, with joy and gratitude, that we see them in right relationship – as a means of mission and expression of abundance.  Otherwise, we can too easily come at this from a perspective of fear and scarcity.  In taking up his cross and inviting us to do the same, Jesus teaches that nothing is to be held back in working for the kingdom of God.  Our use of money is one of the ways we express our faith in this regard.

Name one person in your life, or one of your own personal attributes, or a skill, or a possession, that is not a gift.  In the end, did you deserve the outstretched, beckoning hand of love or friendship from another? Did you somehow earn the skills or talents that come to you naturally?  Have you in some way deserved the gift of time? Did you give yourself life?  What about the resources, wealth, and all that surrounds you daily?  Our myth of the self-made person is right up there with some of the heresies that have been contrary to the Christian faith from the beginning.  We do not save ourselves.  We do not redeem ourselves.  We are trusted stewards of all that we are and all that we have.

Consider the worship, community life, mission and ministry of this parish.  There was a time in the not-too-distant past when people in this area asked if St. Mary’s was “open” – it seemed so quiet at that time.  They’re not asking that question now!  That is an expression of the Holy Spirit of God working in and through this parish.  Your pledge is what enables that ministry to continue.