God cares about money? - Rector's Rambling for October 23, 2022

         October is the time of year when once again the Church addresses the issue of pledging and stewardship.

I wish that I didn’t ever have to talk about money or giving, but it is actually a vital part of the teaching of the Church.  To NOT talk about money, possessions, and giving would be to leave out a portion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In fact, it is an error to think that God wants nothing to do with your budget and what you do with your money.

Does God need your money?  Of course not, but you need to learn to give your money, and God desires that the money you have doesn’t become an idol (your end-all and be-all) or that your zeal for possessions doesn’t start to possess you.

You can be rich and love God, and poor and love Him, too.  You can also be rich and disregard God or poor and do so.  Wealth or poverty both have their attributes that can draw you toward or away from serving Him, and what we need to do is learn GRATITUDE, HUMILITY, AND GENEROSITY to keep from having money be an issue.  Gratitude says that we understand that all that we have is a gift from God, humility reminds us that we are His servants, and in relationship with others, and generosity helps us not only help others, but it helps us to not be too attached to “things”.  Generosity is intermingled with the word charity; both come from the Latin word caritas which means love.  To love is to be generous of self and possessions for the greater glory of God and for the good other people.

Enclosed in the Order of Service is a pledge card.  Please take some time to pray about it and discuss it with those in your household, and then make a pledge in support of St. John’s for 2023.

God continues to bless St. John’s in many ways: wonderful people, financial support from parishioners, and with amazing opportunities to minister in our neighborhood and beyond.  Let us pledge toward the support of the parish for the parish’s good and for our own good as well.