I humbly stand before you today as a member of the Stewardship Committee. I’d like to thank Bob Hartung, Dave Mosteller and Reverend Barb for asking me to take part this year. This is the first of several parishioner pledge reflections. Unlike in the past, this year we have not set a pledge goal, instead we’re asking parishioners to reflect on why we pledge.
As we considered our own pledge this year, I was taken back in time to when we first joined the Episcopal Church and why pledging is important.
The first time Terita and I walked into an Episcopal Church we really didn’t have any sort of direction in our life - we struggled. Together, we were just getting through life, rudderless. Something was missing and while we suspected it was spiritual, we weren’t sure. We were stuck in the cycle of wake up, go to work, come home; wake up, go to work, come home. Until, one day, we decided to walk into an Episcopal church in the neighborhood. We needed direction – spiritual direction. Initially, we thought ok, this is nice. The music is nice, the coffee and food after the service was good, the priest is pretty cool - not as cool as that priest currently sitting to my left - but pretty cool nonetheless. I initially thought to myself where’s God. I spent the next few weeks waiting to meet God waiting for the spiritual awakening that we both craved. I actually wanted God to show up and fix all our problems so we could stop going to church and get on with life.
Now God never did get off the RT 70 Septa bus, but A LOT happened while we were waiting. We were immediately put to work. We were drafted to help with coffee-hour, we were drafted to change the letters on the sign out front, I was drafted to climb an incredibly high ladder and change lightbulbs. We were drafted to play music during advent. You should run for Vestry they said to me - I said, what’s a Vestry?
While we were waiting to be magically saved by God, we were gifted a sense of belonging, a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves, a purpose, responsibilities, commitments. We were given a community. We were given a framework in which to live our lives. To love and help others, to serve. These gifts changed our lives 20 years ago and continue to do so today.
We both feel those same feelings here at St. Peters. So again, as you consider your pledge this year, instead of setting a goal, we’re asking you to think about what this place means to you. Reverend Barb, the choir, the bell choir, the folk group, Holy Communion, St Peters peeps, trivia night, the talent show, the rummage sale, the community partnership, the recovery meetings that take place right down that hall, the food cupboard. Lives are changed every day in this building. All these things are possible because the doors are always open. Your pledge helps keep the doors to the physical building open, but it also helps solidify the framework that IS the congregation. Thank you.
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