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The Musings of Reverend Catherine Harrington It is stewardship time at People’s Church; the time of year when all committees of our church (and there are many) gather to make a wish list for the coming year and propose their budgets to the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee then tallies all of these needs and presents a proposed budget to the Board. This is challenging to say the least. This is the time of the year when we assess the health of our church and what this religious community means to each of us. As St Paul says, we are all baptized into one body—made to drink of one Spirit. There are many members but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the foot.” “The members of the body that seem the weaker are indispensable. And when one member suffers, all suffer together with it. If one member rejoices, all rejoice together with it.” Anne Heller has written a wonderful resource book for the health of congregations called, Churchworks, A Well Body Book for Congregations. Heller cleverly uses the body as a metaphor to illustrate the healthy life of a church. The Brain represents core documents such as bylaws, manuals, financial policies, etc. The Eyes are for developing our future, such as mission and vision, values, covenants. The Feet are for public relations, The Hands are for social action, the heart is ministry, The Liver is conflict resolution, The Reproductive System is membership development, The Skeletal System represents the dedicated hard work of committee members without which our church would collapse. The Skin, Hair, Teeth, and Nails: Better, more attractive buildings And, finally, the body part that cannot be ignored, The STOMACH: Financial Nourishment and Stewardship. The nourishment a healthy body receives is distributed evenly to all of its parts. A well-body needs nourishment daily. Our church is like a home away from home to many of us. It’s the place where we find sanctuary during the week for meetings, rehearsals, and sometimes just a bathroom break while shopping in town or a place to find a quiet rest. The current cost for keeping our church operating is $320 per day! No kidding! Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of using some of the most common tools churches use for raising the level of giving such as repentance or salvation or the ultimate favorite, Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving. (Erma Bombeck), but, hopefully, this awareness will help you to reflect on your commitment to our church’s well-body. It is time to for each of us to reflect on giving. No one has ever become poor by giving. - Anne Frank Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love will make it wags its tail. What I spent, is gone; what I kept, I lost;/ but what I gave away is mine forever It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving. One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving. The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is in only of the giving of oneself to others that we truly live. - Ethel Percy Andrus Let the beauty we love be what we do. - Rumi In faith, Cathy |