Tim’s Stewardship Sharing from 2011:
“Count yourself blessed” When David asked me to share my thoughts on that theme, he gave me some guidelines and said I should keep my talk “shorter than a sermon”. Hmmm…I guess I should have asked him whose sermon he was talking about – we could be here a while.
In any case, my family and I have been coming to North Church for about five years. In that time, I’ve become more and more involved in the different ministries and activities and have become connected to North on many levels and in many ways. I could tell lots of stories about those ministries and activities…from working with Christian Education, to Y Family Shelter meals, to the upcoming Fall cleanup. All of those things are important to North and important to me, but as anyone who has sat with me at one of our many lunches here at North can tell you, getting me started on stories would far exceed that “shorter than a sermon” guideline…no matter whose sermon you’re referring to. So I thought the simplest way to share my perspective on the Stewardship theme would be to just list a few of the ways that I count myself blessed to be here at North Church. As I list them, I hope that you’ll all think about those ways and find one or two that resonate with you.
I count myself blessed to have my health, a job, and a wonderful family…including my North Church family.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that allows everyone to be part of the conversation, no matter where they might be on their spiritual journey.
I count myself blessed to be in a church where giving isn’t just about money, but about sharing all the gifts we have to bring.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that allows everyone to be themselves.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that nurtures sides of me that I don’t always get to express in other parts of my life.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that is growing because it offers a discussion, not just a doctrine.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that engages my children and all of the children in the ministries of the church, from Crop Walk to the Y Family Shelter meals to the North Church ringers.
I count myself blessed to be in a church that has so many extraordinary people willing to help those children begin and continue their spiritual journeys.
I could just go on and on….but instead I’ll summarize with a thought about Ubuntu that we talked about last week at our Family Retreat. When I give time or money to North Church, it’s about completing that circle of Ubuntu. What I give helps North continue to be part of me, and North’s continued growth helps me continue to be part of it. I am a lot of things in my life, but the thought that resonates with me as I look around the sanctuary is that I am North Church and North Church is me.