I know I said I would update weekly and Friday isn't here yet, and this isn't part two of my church outreach thoughts, but something came up in my ministry this week that I had to write about.
I went out yesterday to administer communion to those who are homebound. One woman I've already met, but I met another woman and a couple for the first time. We had very good albeit short meetings, but the communion seemed meaningful for them and that was a positive.
The woman I met for the first time yesterday lives in an assisted living facility. She's been there for about a year and she's quite sharp for her age. I asked her how she was getting along and made sure to point out that the bread and juice we were using for communion were the same pieces of bread and same juice we used in worship the previous Sunday. We use the same stuff to emphasize the point that we are all part of the community of God, even when we can't physically be there. The woman (whom I shall call Helen) told me that she wished sometimes that she could just disappear.
Helen: Sometimes I wish I could just disappear.
Me: Why is that?
Helen: Well, I'm in this place now and it costs money to educate that girl (motioning to the picture of her granddaughter who is in college...Helen contributes a great deal to help support her granddaughter's education). I want to give to the church, but I just can't, so if I were to disappear they wouldn't be able to ask for money.
Me: Well, I want you to know that financial giving isn't the only reason you're a part of our church community. Even though you can't be there, you're still a part of the family.
I'm not sure if what I said helped. She kind of changed the subject after that. Having worked as a hospital chaplain, I've spent some time analyzing what people say during visitations and how I react to what they say. So when Helen told me she wished she could disappear so the church wouldn't ask her for money, it made me sad. I wanted to communicate to her that she was a part of the community for more than just financial reasons.
When we talk about stewardship as giving of time, money, and talents, how do you communicate to a woman who cannot offer her time and talent anymore that her membership is not contingent on her giving alone? I chewed on that for a while and thought about what I've been calling a "ministry of presence." While I can't claim the statement as original to me, the concept is that there is ministry is being a part of someone's journey. It can in offering a prayer with them or for them. It can even be in attending their funeral even if you didn't know them personally. Being present with them as part of their community of faith is an important ministry, and it's one that Helen can still offer without leaving her room.
Stewardship is more than just money. Helen's ministry of presence can come in the form of praying for her community of faith and offering the gift of hospitality when a member of that community visits with her. In opening up her room -- her home -- to me yesterday for home communion, Helen practiced faithful stewardship. In praying with me and sharing that meal with me, and in the way she offers a smile and her friendship to the other people living in that facility, she is practicing good stewardship. Good stewardship doesn't have to mean you come to church and teach Sunday school or even writing a pledge card. It's so much more than that, and I hope in future visits to Helen, I can communicate to her how important she is to this community of faith.
It's interesting going into a stewardship season without a stewardship committee. The committee right now consists of a chairperson and one other person who has offered to help without being on the committee. As a new pastor who comes from churches with healthy stewardship committees, this makes me uncomfortable. A campaign is going to happen, but it is going to be very interesting to see what happens with such a lack of structure. Will there be any change in giving? Will people give more if they hear about it less? Or will giving decrease? Maybe it will stay the same.
I'm trying to encourage the congegation to think of stewardship in terms of Wows instead of Woes. It's because stewardship happened last year that the church is still here today to practice effective ministry. So praise God for that! Instead of thinking about what we sacrifice in the name of stewardship, let's think about what we gain. What ministries can we offer that will help us do God's work in the church? If our attitude toward stewardship changed so that we see stewardship as a blessing, how would that change the giving structure in a church?
Just some thoughts.
In Christ,
Pastor Becki
No comments:
Post a Comment