Over the years, the Lord has blessed us with several financial endowments from parishioners who loved and wanted to bless St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church after they had died. This was an act of stewardship on the part of these dear, departed saints. We are now called to manage these gifts with wisdom, faith, and courage.
Wisdom with faith means prayer, thoughtfulness, research, and… risk. Fear is the enemy of faith, and we must remind ourselves that genuine love always involves sacrifice and risk. An unhealthy parish allows fear and control to lead and guide decision-making. A healthy parish knows that it is only God who gives us life, breath, and anything else we have. Any “perfect gift comes from above, from the “Father of Lights” to the glory and use of his will and ways. Courage, faith, hope, and joy reveal itself in a parish culture. So do fear, control, resentment, and pessimism.
Matthew 6:
19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 24 ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
We are called to hold our material wealth loosely. Wise saving and spending reflect health and peace. Fearful hoarding breeds fear and dissension while communicating that it is up to us to keep ourselves safe and viable. Spiritual maturity discerns and does not resort to an either-or approach to saving and risk. It takes a both-and approach. Childishness focuses on one extreme or the other.
We have now reached a time in our church life where we are taking more significant steps toward mission. We will be spending parts of our “invested savings” on projects we believe encourage discipleship and evangelism. The evil one is well aware, and, thus, the familiar temptations to a me over a we attitude will likely emerge. Making decisions together never means everyone getting their way (including the priest). But this does not change the calling of Christ, his ordaining of leadership, and the control we are to have over our passions.
As a vestry, we have decided to use some of our invested money to fund our Landscaping and Beautification Project. We have wisely invested our money, but also want to use our monetary blessings with love and mission to the world in mind. This does not mean that we won’t have times in the future when we might raise money in a capital campaign for other projects. However, hoarding God’s gifts is not stewardship, it is idolatry. This priest, with the lay leadership of this church, believes we need to be “investing” our money in Kingdom priorities. The Episcopal Church is not in steep attendance and membership decline because our endowments have run out. We are in steep decline because we have decided to replace Jesus with a host of other sources of life and hope.
In our next article, we will look specifically at what Jesus teaches regarding the hoarding of our goods for selfish reasons and the investing of our wealth for eternal capital gains.
I leave you with this theme from Matthew 25:14-30 for our next article: Our faithful living reflects an eternal perspective.
I am on study leave this week. Eric Teoro will be preaching with Emily Ayers leading Morning Prayer in both services this Sunday. We thank the Lord for two people in our parish with such clear gifts in leading these parts of our sacramental worship.
Have a blessed time of worship together.
Fr. Tom
Upcoming Schedule
Adult Christian Ed Class Sunday, 9 AM.
Choir Meet/Practice
Wednesdays, 4:30 PM, in the choir/organ loft
Home Sweet Home Project
Saturday, March 23, fundraising dinner
Palm Sunday, March 24th
One service at 9:30 AM
Maundy Thursday, March 28th, 6 PM
Good Friday, March 29th
Noon: Stations of the Cross
6 PM: Good Friday Service (no Eucharist)
Holy Saturday, March 30th
Great Easter Vigil service 7 PM
Easter Sunday, March 30th
One service at 10 AM. Easter Celebration Dinner-potluck after
AMORE’ FOR HOME SWEET HOME
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, March 23, for St. Matt’s fundraiser to benefit Home Sweet Home’s initiatives to address the crisis of homelessness in our community. “Amore’ for Home Sweet Home” will feature a family-style Italian Dinner with music, cake-walks, raffles, and more. Matt Burgess, Executive Director of Home Sweet Home, will speak and be available for a Q&A roundtable after the program. Doors open at 5:30 for registration, with dinner at 6:00. Join in the evening’s purpose and fun! Suggested donations are $25 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Please make checks payable to St. Matthew’s Church, noting “HSH” on the memo line. Register Sunday at church or online through March 17. Email office@stmattsblm.org.
Finally, an appeal to St. Matt’s members for items needed to boost income:
- For raffles – gift cards, baskets, services, unique items (new)
- For “Cake Walks” – cakes, frozen casseroles & other foods, e.g., boxes of candy
- For a “Wine Pull” – bottles of red or white wine
- Or volunteer to help set up/ clean up
Please register pledged donations on the forms provided on the bulletin board across from the fellowship hall. Thank you! –The Committee: Linda T (Chair), Linda S, the St. Peters, the Pitts.
NEW OUTREACH PROJECT
During these cold winter months, let’s donate to Home Sweet Home Ministries’ programs to house and care for the homeless. The Rapid Rehousing Program helps people in need get into housing quickly by allowing a property owner to lease a unit to HSH, which then vets participants and attempts to alleviate issues that may arise.
The Mission has also been offering shelter, warmth, and food to homeless people living in tents nearby. St. Matthews has been collecting blankets for this effort. We can also collect the following items.
- bottled water
- pop-top cans of soup
- paper towels
- toilet paper
- toothpaste
- deodorant and body wash for men and women
- new bath towels (full-sized)
Please put whatever you choose to donate on our stone counter adjacent to the fireplace. Thank you for helping! The Outreach Committee