Celebration Sunday and I’m beginning my reflection with fear talk. The fears you just heard are no doubt familiar to you. You may share some of the same. I know that I do.
And my fear grabbed hold of me just recently and at a time I would not have ever imagined. It was just two weeks ago when I opened an envelope from All Souls. Inside was the end-of-year financial statement that we all receive in order to file our taxes. I usually feel really good when I open that envelope. But this year something entirely different happened. I opened the statement and saw that my family had donated about $3000 to All Souls. I will confess that I was tempted by what I can only name as fear. Because for just one moment, the following is what ran through my mind, “Oh Lord, we could have been $3000 closer to paying off my student loan. We could have been $3000 closer to paying for the college tuition that is looming just three years ahead.” Me. The minister.
Very quickly, the voice of reason took over. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” It was my Reason admonishing my Fear. Truth is, I couldn’t be happier or more proud of my financial contribution – proud of what I give and sacrifice for this congregation and for the religious tradition we represent and embody.
People tell me that my student loan is what is called “good debt” and I believe them. It’s good debt for good reason. And my daughter’s college tuition? Some years ago I attended a finance workshop for female ministers. The financial advisor said that none of us would be able to afford our kids’ college tuition. This revelation may seem twisted but that news actually came as a relief to me. As my parents did before me, my partner, our daughter and I will figure it out.
So there. My fear was beaten down and I was free to rejoice in all that I shared and sacrificed for this higher purpose. This congregation. This faith tradition.
But fear and money are a mighty powerful and sometimes destructive combination. From the internal and brief battle I just described to you, to the manner in which these two conflict on the world’s stage, there is little good that comes with the fear of money or the lack thereof. Yet, it is a difficult topic for many to confront.
Typically attendance goes down on Celebration Sunday despite the enthusiasm with which we encourage every one to join in. Even those of you who do show up on Celebration Sunday may come with an internal cringe. Fear may well play into the cringe. Or perhaps some feel that it’s unbecoming of a faith community to talk about money very much, if at all.
I say this every year and this one will be no different. I love Celebration Sunday. I love it because on Celebration Sunday we celebrate that which we commit to support. And what we are committing to supporting is our shared and faithful mission and Unitarian Universalism as a liberal faith tradition. So, Celebration Sunday is just that – a celebration. And who doesn’t love a party with a good cause at its root?
And yes, there is the sermon on “the amount” as they say. And that sermon falls to me and you can be sure that I’ll be sure to talk about money - yours and mine. We’ve talked about our personal relationship to money, about the congregation’s relationship to money and the questions that money demands of us. It’s interesting as all the tough topics are. Think about it – sexuality, religion, money – all interesting, however complicated. And they all have their place here at church.
This congregation’s approach to money has dramatically shifted these past several years. This shift first began through a kind of shroud lifting. We actually began to say the word, “money” out loud. Then as more All Souls leaders began reading books about stewardship, we became bolder in articulating clear goals as well as our collective responsibility as financial stewards. Jackie Pick, then serving as the congregation’s treasurer, began writing a newsletter column called “Good Cents.” Our finances were officially out of the closet. Then we became even more audacious and began to consider the spirituality of money and giving - the meaning of both.
Now, what we came to understand differs dramatically from what you may hear from what’s called the “Prosperity Gospel.” Largely preached by Pentecostal religionists, the message is that God wants us to achieve prosperity, that if one accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord & savior, if one gives money to the church, then indeed, God will see to it that money multiplies and comes back to the you, the giver. Further, the prosperity gospel says that you are entitled to have much. Entitled.
Me, I think that we are all of us entitled to what we need – nothing more. Whatever money we earn or receive that goes beyond what we need is gravy. The question is: If we are fortunate enough to earn or have enough money to tend to what we need, what do we do with the money beyond our need? How do we spend “the gravy?”
I’ve preached this message before, usually around the holidays. We are all aware of the overwhelming and seductive messages that attempt to convince us that we need more. There’s an entire industry that has emerged as an outcome of the success of these messages. Now we may rent storage space to put the stuff we can’t fit into our homes. There are companies that design closets to store the stuff in our homes. And they are beautiful. Organized, pristine … if only I had one of those closets, my life would be simplified. My mind would clear. Kind of like the closet as meditation. And tonight we will witness perhaps the most flagrant display of consumerism known to humankind. And that would be, of course, Super Bowl advertising. Bla, bla, bla … you’ve all heard this sermon before. You know all about it and likely try to resist the forces that would infect your soul.
The question remains. “How do we spend the gravy?” I’m going to take a cue from the Coming of Age Youth who spoke so beautifully last Sunday. I’m going to hold up one of the main threads of their credos – that of interconnectedness. That old time Universalist theology that reminds us that we are for each other. That what affects one, affects us all. That we are here to serve. They were brilliant, our own young theologians, right?
That’s what we do. We give to support and buoy our mission as it is a mission that commits us to our inherent interconnectedness. I know it by heart: “All Souls is a liberal, religious congregation that nurtures life-long spiritual development. We covenant to create a welcoming, caring, justice seeking community within and beyond our walls.” That moves me to give to this congregation. It moves me because I know that we mean it and live it. I am so proud that last year we gave away near $20,000. Oh, I know that some may say, as I did about my own finances, “We surely could have used that money to wheedle down the mortgage. We surely could have used that money to cover the gap in the operating budget.” But that we gave it away reminds us that we are connected to others. That our mission compels us to support the good work of like-minded institutions. And boy, doesn’t it feel good, deep in your soul, to know that together, we shared the abundance of spirit that we all create here within these walls. When we spread it around, it is magnified.
I have seen the difference this place makes in our lives and in the lives of our neighbors. I feel the enthusiasm in this sanctuary, in our classrooms. I feel proud of the manner in which we propelling ourselves into the wider community. And we are capable of doing even more. How exciting it is – that we are in the brink of dreaming our future and dreaming big and with confidence.
Today I’m here to bear witness. These are the reasons why I give to All Souls. I give to ensure that the good news of Unitarian Universalism continues to reach those who need our message. I give to ensure the newcomers’ blessing of presence. I give to ensure that we continue to be as expansive and optimistic and hope-filled as we’ve been these last 100 years. I give because I think that our mission is life changing and affirming. I give because I believe that Unitarian Universalism is the way home.
I give to keep All Souls shining.
And because it is Celebration Sunday, I will take the opportunity to celebrate you and to celebrate the symbiotic partnership among us. Thank you for all you do, and share, and sacrifice to make our mission a reality.
May the process by which you decide your own amount be meaningful and begin from a place of courage & hope.
May it be so.
