All Aboard!
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Over the course of these past 4 weeks, we have been thinking about life, about the reality that we only get one bite at this apple: YOLO! Life is precious. Our time, the way we spend our lives, and our priorities, deeply affect the quality of this life and the next.
What is on your bucket list? What are your life dreams? These are great questions to ponder. It can be easy to slide into the weekly routine and not ask ourselves those bigger questions. While these are personal questions, we can also ask ourselves collectively: What are our parish dreams? What would we like to accomplish together?
This weekend is Stewardship Sunday, a time when we celebrate our wins over the past year and look forward to vision our future. We take stock and celebrate while also looking ahead in hope together.
The church is often depicted as a ship traversing the great sea of the world heading toward her eternal home. Think about all the trips the disciples took across the Sea of Galilee, and the boat the disciples traveled to keep them safe, but not without storms, as they traversed the waves.
Many writers have built on this nautical analogy. In our Gospel (Mt 22:34-40) this week, we are reminded of the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. These two become two great oars used to steer and power the boat, when there is little wind. Both commandments are necessary for the fulfillment of the law, just as two oars are needed to guide the boat. With just one oar, the boat travels in circles.
When a ship sets sail, it needs a destination, a crew, various supplies, and a captain. All the pieces are essential to the success of the journey. As the pastor of this little parish, if we keep to the analogy, I am the captain, but it's not my ship; it has just been entrusted to me, and I hope to improve on what has gone before and point us steadily toward our destination.
Our parish has been on this journey for over 100 years. Where are we headed? With key leadership, together we chart a course and seek to navigate the local waters. When I came aboard, we didn’t really have a keen sense of mission, but together we have discerned our mission: building up the Body of Christ. And this weekend, we invite you to share your hopes and dreams with us on the commitment card. How shall we get there?
We are also inviting you to assist as crew and with supplies. Our small staff cannot set sail without many dedicated members who seek to serve, tithe, engage, practice and share (that’s S.T.E.P.S. for short) this precious faith of ours. It takes all of us. Over these past few weeks, we have invited you to join a ministry, to engage the faith in a small group, to serve our parish family, really - to be part of this crew. We need dedicated crew members to make this journey possible.
We also need help with supplies, with funds for the journey. Engaging in ministry requires funding, and we invite you to support what you believe in, our parish and our mission. Please take some time in the coming weeks to pray over your finances. Then plan your gift for 2024. Discerning your gift as a percentage of all God has shared with you is the Biblical way; the standard biblical gift is 10%, which may not be possible for you now, but it is good to know the percentage that you are able to return to the Lord. Giving in your place of worship is an act of worship. Finally, seek to progress in your giving.
I am committed to tithing, and I am asking our team and leadership also to make a commitment to help supply the mission. The way I see it, we need to lead by example. We are not a parish of great wealth, and so it will take all of us, sharing our talents, time, and resources, to make this journey together.
During these days when we focus on how precious life is - YOLO - we invite you to come aboard with us and journey together in mission as engaged members of our parish family.
God’s peace be upon you and your family!
Fr. Wilson
