That is one of the hymns in our Faith We Sing Hymnal and an early service favorite. It reminds me of the verse from Hebrews that invites us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” That passage also includes the idea that we are surrounded by a mighty cloud of witnesses, all encouraging us as we run our race. I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in thinking that my parents, among others, are still cheering me on as I continue on to my own finish line, however far ahead of me that might be.
But I also think of these words of scripture in the context of our church and especially as we come into the last quarter of our yearly giving pledges. We are sort of rounding the last turn and while some are way ahead and have already finished the race, others are lagging a bit behind. There is an old African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” It is only together, as part of a community of givers, that we can finish strong.
In October we’ll focus on stewardship for three successive Sundays. We’ll begin that “conversation” by hearing from one of our lay members, Mark Humphrey. The following week I’ll share some thoughts and the final week Pastor Kelly will tie everything together. When you consider the financial giving of a congregation, and us as members of that congregation, it does resemble a marathon race, one that stretches out over the length of a year. Now we all know that circumstances change over the course of time and sometimes the pledge commitment one makes at the beginning of the year just cannot be met. We get that. But if the majority of us honor our pledges we will finish strong so I encourage you to carefully review the 3rd Quarter Statements you’ll be receiving in October and do your best to meet your pledges.
We are also called from time to time to run “sprints”. These are short races with a clearly defined goal in mind. Just recently I encouraged you to empty your coin jars in support of the Bay View Community Center’s food pantry. I’m excited to tell you our canister of change came in at $97.26, one of the best of local churches and local businesses. Our friends at Anodyne Coffee had the most with $126.27. Good for them!
Our Wesleyan Bell Choir is also inviting us to “sprint” along with them as they raise funds for the refurbishment of our bells. This is an expensive proposition and not something covered in our annual church budget. All of our music here is excellent but I think you’ll agree those bells are something special. So let’s all dig just a little deeper, as we are able, and show our support for our bell choirs as they host Coffee Hour on October 11 and November 8. Let’s finish strong!
Pastor Andy