One year during our stewardship emphasis, Solveig Muus shared her own definition of stewardship: showing up for your community. Before I heard Solveig say this, I had never considered this definition of stewardship. Now, however, I find it a compelling definition for the stewardship of our time and energy. We show up for each other. We show up for the ministry to which we feel called. We show up for the things we feel are important.
In a culture where we are defined by what we consume, church is sometimes just one more thing we consume. Sometimes, we choose a church based on what it provides for us, such as its programs or because certain people pay attention to us. We can get trapped into thinking that the church provides services for us instead of us contributing to a community where we all use our gifts for the sake of others and the world God loves. The oft-quoted words of John F. Kennedy come to mind: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. How similar it is in the church! (Just take out “country” and put in “church.”)
While we can find support at church, especially in difficult times, God calls us to care for others and show up for others when they need the support of a faith community. While children, youth, and adults benefit from Bible studies and VBS, confirmation and youth activities, these activities are provided not so much as a service to a particular group but as an opportunity to share our faith with each other. While we may receive necessary nourishment and shelter at the pancake breakfast or heat respite, we can also volunteer in these programs, in the office, or around the church—to care for and steward this property which allows us to provide meals and daytime, summer shelter. Church is not, essentially, about what the church provides for us. Instead, church is about what we can do together in the world, responding to the call of God, showing up for one another.
We are the church. The church really is not an institution but a people, a community, individuals banding together to do God’s work. Really. If we do not show up, the church does not exist. The Spirit of God will always blow, and God will continue to do whatever God wants to do in the world. But the church is the people.
I hope you will show up for the ministry we share at Grace in whatever ways you feel called. On Sunday, January 26 at 10:30 am, we’ll gather in Hope Hall for our annual meeting. At this meeting, we will give thanks to God for the ways the church shows up to do God’s work, and we will consider how God might be calling us in the new year. What we can do together is far greater than what we can do alone, so please, show up.
With gratitude for each one of you,
Pastor Sarah