Let your yeah be yeah and your no be no, now. – Jimmy Cliff (and Matthew 5:37)
Dear Friends,
On my walk back to church after lunch last Tuesday, I had three brief interactions with three people from three different families; one lost a family cat in a cat-vs.-car incident, another lost his cousin to brain cancer and another is in fear of losing her daughter to leukemia. Three different people from three different walks of life, none of whom worship here, and with all of whom I am privileged to have shared a moment.
I offer these brief stories to say Two Things (à la Dr. Suess!) about this church community and to draw a connection between these two things and your vital support of it.
Thing 1: our church is literally and figuratively a church on a hill. We take great pains, out of respect for its history and for what it stands, to keep it in good shape, to make it a place of welcome refuge, of beautiful music and art and most importantly a place where anyone can gather in worship and rediscover that God only worth rediscovering: the God of ‘pure unbounded love.’ I was reminded recently in a Christian Ethics course I am taking that while this last theological point may be obvious to you, it is not so obvious to everyone; all too often God’s free gift of love is qualified by one thing or another.
Thing 2: these encounters I just mentioned happened because I am a representative of a community known for compassion and openness. We are known that way because you have taken seriously the connection between who you are on Sunday morning and what you do in the community. You and I do not “wear our faith on our sleeve,” but we do try, as far as I can see, to live honestly and with loving kindness toward the world. We try to connect who we are as Christians with what we say and do in our everyday lives. We try to let our “yes be yes and our no be no.” We do that by living out of our profound sense of worshiping a God who doesn’t mess with our heads, who doesn’t withhold love or forgiveness, and who welcomes all to the table, “no matter who you are or where you’ve come from.”
There are moments when being a part of a community like this is not easy. You also get stopped three times on your way out of the grocery store to hear stories of loss or fear. And there are moments when that’s too much, when you are tempted to walk the other way. Especially when what is required is not a pat “theological” answer, but a few moments of shared pain, tears even, when you’re in a rush.
This is an invitation to join us again (or for the first time!) in pledging. Here’s the takeaway: in the way that being Christian is so often difficult because it is not “Christian” (as western culture defines it) because it asks of you and of your time and your heart, and not just a slogan, so also being a church member is not always easy because it demands some your financial resources too. Nobody will tell you the amount of that demand. But right here, right now, I will tell you that Thing 1 and Thing 2 are valuable gifts and not easily found anywhere else, so let your Yes be Yes.
We are not far from entering our third year Covid. I am grateful to be a part of this community during it. Because you have been so supportive in the midst of so much uncertainty, because you’ve rolled so graciously with the technological challenges and all the associated hiccups and missteps, because you’ve continued to try to be people who think deeply about important matters and to let your lives be subsequently shaped by them, I offer my deepest thanks.
Grace to you and peace,
Rev. Peter Plagge
P.S. The Board of Finance would like to start building next year’s budget in December. Please do them a favor and return your pledge card by Thanksgiving. Thank you!
P.P.S. For the online edition: If you’d like to pledge but did not get a pledge card, or have lost yours, please let Betsy know in the office, and she’ll get you a card, or simply take your information, whichever you prefer.