As we live into this first week of Easter, I find myself reflecting again and again on the abundance of talent in this congregation. The gifts of music and worship planning, the gifts of hospitality, food and environment, the gifts of service to those in need near and far… the gifts go on and on.  This congregation is alive with God’s energy and activity! And among these talents lives an incredibly gifted and dedicated Church Staff whose work over this past Holy Week was incredible. Their collegiality and deep faith are inspiring to me. At the same time, it is very disturbing to me that we cannot pay them what they are worth.  I am even more perplexed to acknowledge our unstable financial situation as a congregation amidst all this abundance. There is a disconnect for me here. How can so much good for God be taking place and yet we are seriously behind on our quarterly income?  How is it that many come to St. Marks and call it home and yet do not assume any responsibility for our financial health?  What more can be done to help  each of us mature as faith-filled Christian stewards of money and all our material resources?

Your thoughts?

Walter Brueggeman was a guest lecturer at Notre Dame at the time we were using his text on the Hebrew Scriptures. I was amazed to learn that he was a poet as well. I came across this prayer he wrote  years ago and still find great meaning in it.

We Notice Your Giving        Walter Brueggemann

You God of Command who issues demands upon us;

You God of promise who compels us to hope;

You God of deliverance endlessly up-ending our systems of abuse;

In all your commanding, your promising, your delivering,

            we notice your giving.

            Indeed your giving is what we notice first, best, and most,

            about your own life… giving without reserve or limitation.

You give us worlds of beauty and abundance,

            blessed and fruitful.

You give us sustenance for the day,

            so that we are not smitten by the sun of day

            or the moon by night.

You give us – in the center of all your giving-

            Your only, well-beloved Son.

You give us your spirit of power, energy and wisdom.

            gifts all without begrudging!

And we receive, because we have no alternative,

            because we cannot live without your gifts.

because we have nothing but what you have given us.

We receive, carefully and anxiously,

            worried that there is not enough,

            of security and safety,

            of grades or grants or dollars or friends

            of sex or beer or SUVs,

                        or students and endowments,

            of futures, and so we crave and store up for rainy futures.

We receive occasionally when you stagger us

            and we break beyond anxiety

            in gratitude,

                        recognizing that your generosity

                                    give us more than enough;

            and in grateful giving we become our true selves,

                        breathed in the image of your Son.

So we ponder your generosity and are dazzled.

We measure our gratitude and our capacity to be generous.

            We pray your haunting us beyond ourselves,

                   in wonder at your way.

            in love for the world you love,

in praise that transforms our fear,

in wonder, love and praise,

            or lives beyond ourselves

                        toward us,

                        a blessing in the world.

Hear us as we pray on the name of the emptied, exalted One. Amen

Over the next four weeks, we want to grow in our capacity for gratitude; our awareness and appreciation for all God has done for us at St. Mark’s- especially when it comes to our  new and renovated Church Campus. Please share a sentence or two about what part of the new building are you most thankful for and why?