Joy Is a group project
I’ll be honest, I put off writing this column for a very long time. My stomach always gets in knots when I consider writing to all of you, my dear congregation, during election seasons.
And, that this weekend is Joy Weekend around here is fitting for some and less so for others. What we can all agree on though, is that we are grateful that the ads can stop on TV, the mailers will stop filling up our mailboxes, and the waste of resources to produce those things can cease.
Around our nation, our prayers for our elected leaders continue, especially that they act for those with no voice or whose voices have been taken away.
Closer to home, the work for more justice and peace in our world (you remember that part of our baptismal vows, right?) continues because no matter what happens in an election, the real work must happen on the ground. And that is what I want to talk a little about today.
Most of you know that we gathered together as a congregation in a special meeting to purchase the house located at 2019 Main Street (also known as the white one next to the parking lot). The vote was overwhelmingly supportive, and the anticipation for this project is high. While we still don’t have the specifics of how that house is to be used, we do know that it will serve our neighborhood, caring for the whole person. We hope it to be a place to care for people’s bodies and spirits. It is but one way that we will grow in joy as well as a way that we are going to be the neighbor.
2027 is going to be an incredible year for us at St. Paul. In addition to that new house and the possibilities within, it’s going to be a year where we will be the neighbor and see what God does. Not only are we going to highlight the work of our community partners that rely on us for so much of their funding, we are going to get our hands dirty, reaching out with full hearts to advocate and care for the housing insecure, those with chronically empty bellies, and others who so easily get left behind as society moves forward.
All of this is in addition to the continued work of the church we are engaged in; all of those Bible studies and caring ministries, those gatherings of empty nesters and birders, the points of connection we can make between people who feel increasingly isolated, and of course, the beautiful and soul inspiring worship we do each and every weekend.
Between the “usual” ministries of the church and our renewed focus on our neighbors, it makes Joy Weekend all the more important. If you haven’t yet, I want to encourage you all to prayerfully consider how you will grow in your generosity this year. How will you give, not of what is left over, but of what you have. God deserves more than our leftovers after all.
I hope you will then be present on Sunday for Joy Weekend, to march those financial pledge commitments forward with the whole congregation and say your “yes” to an invitation to participate in something larger than yourself, to declare your “yes” to this world that God loves, and to shout your “yes” to an invitation to grow in joy, to be the neighbor.
If you can’t be there, you can still participate. I hope you will. You have until the end of the year (and a little beyond) to let us know how you plan to participate in the joyful ministries that are to come.
It truly does take all of us, and not only that, it takes all of us to step up in our giving to accomplish what we hope to this year.
I hope we can count on each other to all grow (together) in joy! See you this weekend.
