November 22, 2009
Totenfest
Totenfest
For Such a Time as This
"From Jesus' fullness we have received grace upon grace." It is indeed true and very good news indeed; we have received from Jesus grace upon grace.
"But I've been thinking recently about other sorts of things people have been receiving over this past year: lay-off notices, letters from a bank foreclosing on a house, rejection letters from prospective employers, notices that retirement savings have lost value, news that a family member is being called to service in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan, a diagnosis that not only means physical and emotional but financial struggle.
When things as unwelcome as this come along, indeed when the whole nation is struggling through economic downturn and two wars, sometimes it can be hard to hold on to the notion that our days are full of grace upon grace. . .
"None of us can fulfill God's call alone; not even Jesus did that. Whatever the problem or need, you can be sure there are others in your community, your denomination, your family also concerned and working on it. The gift of being in a church and attached to the wider denomination is that there is a space for sharing ideas, for sharing resources, for knowing that you are held in prayer and so strengthened by relationships.
"When times are hard, it is these relationships that will provide the resources to carry on, and perhaps the greatest task of individuals and churches is to nurture those relationships as much as we shepherd our church budgets, endowments or buildings."
"But I've been thinking recently about other sorts of things people have been receiving over this past year: lay-off notices, letters from a bank foreclosing on a house, rejection letters from prospective employers, notices that retirement savings have lost value, news that a family member is being called to service in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan, a diagnosis that not only means physical and emotional but financial struggle.
When things as unwelcome as this come along, indeed when the whole nation is struggling through economic downturn and two wars, sometimes it can be hard to hold on to the notion that our days are full of grace upon grace. . .
"None of us can fulfill God's call alone; not even Jesus did that. Whatever the problem or need, you can be sure there are others in your community, your denomination, your family also concerned and working on it. The gift of being in a church and attached to the wider denomination is that there is a space for sharing ideas, for sharing resources, for knowing that you are held in prayer and so strengthened by relationships.
"When times are hard, it is these relationships that will provide the resources to carry on, and perhaps the greatest task of individuals and churches is to nurture those relationships as much as we shepherd our church budgets, endowments or buildings."
(Excerpted from "For Such a Time as This: Stewardship in Tough Economic Times," a Bible Study for congregations by Rochelle Stackhouse, now available at uccresources.org.)
FIRST UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Orlando, Florida USA
Orlando, Florida USA
Weekly Thought
