The Way Forward: Generosity
The Way Forward: Generosity
2 Corinthians 9:11-12
So, who’s the first generous person you remember in your life? The first generous person when it came to cash for me was a man named Joe Schmidt. I was getting ready to go to college. I had some scholarship help that already made my out of state private school less expensive than my in state private university (which, of course, generous donors to the college made this possible.) Mr. Schmidt called me on the phone, asked me to come over, met me at the door and ushered me into his office, which was fancier than any office that I had ever seen. He sat me down and asked about my college plans. Then, he puled out what I thought was his calendar but was in fact his check register. He wrote out a check, put it in an envelope and handed it to me. He told me to study hard. I opened the envelope when I got home and saw that the check was for a thousand dollars, more money than I could really imagine. At the time, I was working three jobs, the highest paying of which paid $3.75 per hour.
Joe Schmidt’s generosity blew me away that day. Generous people have blown me away on a regular basis ever since but the generosity has taken many forms. In college, I was blessed with some really great professors who were so generous with their time. I had one professor who agreed to oversee an independent study with me and met twice a week for nine months to discuss my project. Every Tuesday was at his house for breakfast. And, every Friday afternoon was in his office. In seminary, I had a professor who took me under his wing for an independent study project in systematic theology. From high school through graduate school, teachers have been some of the most generous people I’ve known. Teachers will always be sacred people to me!
If you look around this church, you will find unbelievably generous people—generous with their time, their talents, and their financial giving. Over the years, there have been so many different people who have been Sunday School teachers. They have cared relentlessly about our children and known them from preschool through high school. Just ask any of our children about their teachers. Then, stop one of our young adults when they’re back visiting. They will tell you about who taught them. When we baptize a child in this church, we make a commitment to raise our children together and teach them and care for them. That promise is fulfilled one Sunday at a time, one teacher at a time, week after week.
One of my favorite groups of generous people in our church are the members of the Building and Landscape Committee, just one of a number of committees that keep this church going, all of which are staffed by volunteers. “Building and Landscpe” has been chaired by Jerry McDermott for a number of years. Jerry does a brilliant job but I know that he would be the first to tell you about the work that the folks on the committee do. If the roof springs a leak or we need some patch work done on a ceiling or there is an issue in the parking lot, this committee doesn’t sit around and fret. They get to work. “I’ll get some bids.” “I don’t mind meeting them when they come.” “Let me know how I can help.” People freely share their skills and insights and often put their own sweat into the mix. These are generous people, getting things done, insuring the safety of our members and the future of the congregation.
Generous people agree to be Elders and Trustees in this church, meeting monthly, dealing with all sorts of challenges and trying to imagine how the church can grow and become more of the chuch that God would have us be. They take their responsibilities seriously. They care deeply about the church. They listen to each other and almost always come to a consensus about the way forward. This church doesn’t function without those two boards doing their work! People who are generous with their time and their talents are the fuel for that work.
One of the best things Tracy and I have done in our careers is our work trips. The only way that we were ever prepared to lead those trips was because of a generous man—Jim Cochrane—who tirelessly taught us hot this was done. He ran work trips for years before we met him and continued well into his eighties. In fact, I think he was chuckling somewhere last week at the notion that Tracy and I are done: “So soon? That seems a little “soft” now, doesn't it?” (Jim loved to tease us!)
Think about a Work Trip. Volunteers take time off—precious vacation time—to go in the spring to scout out work sites. Once we’ve agreed to the work, they spend months—literally—thinking about that work and putting together plans and lumber lists. Vans are reserved and eventually picked up by volunteers. Then, for nearly a week, those volunteers throw themselves head first into hard physical work in an incedibly hot place—and, oh, by the way, they not only take on that work by they also take on the responsibility for a whole group of young people weilding power tools. There is nothing glamorous about the experience and yet, those adults become fiercely loyal to the trip. They believe in that work! They love those kids! They come back “owning” being a part of the Union Church in ways that they never did before.
Of course, when it comes to generous people, we can’t overlook the choir, too. Some choir members are amazing musicians! Some of them are amazing people! All of them are committed to being a part of the group, to learning how to sing together, to elevating the worship experience of our congregation. Think about it. These choir members spend more time looking at the back of my head than anyone else that I know (and that’s not a pretty view)! Although, yes, they do see everything going on in the congregation! In the choir, you will find more people freely shaing their time and talents.
All of those things are visible examples of what it looks like for faithful people to be generous. There are more. I usually get to be the delivery guy for any number of things that this church does. I get to take the food to the C.O.O.L. Food Pantry. I see the grattitude that’s there. I get to take the books to Bernie’s Books at Christmas time. They light up when they see the boxes. I get to run Thanksgiving Bags and Christmas presents and comfort bags for cancer patients and on and on. What I see when I do those things is people who are genuinely thankful for our generous little church.
Almost no one sees the fruits of a charitable trust that an anonymous donor supports for our church. We buy glasses for children. We buy food for families who don’t have any. We buy school lunch for the kid at the high school who’s family can’t afford it. We send kids to camp and on school trips and to music lessons. All of this happens because of one donor. People who are caring for those in need know that when they run into special needs they can call this church because this is a generous place.
In addition to all of these kinds of giving, we have our annual stewardship campaign. Every year, the finance committee, tasked with the world’s most thankless job, puts together a budget which is always as lean as we can make it. Every year, we wonder, “How’s this going to go?” Every year, eventually, we seem to make it. This only happens because good work goes into that budgeting process and into the mananagement of finances for the year. (Thank God for good Trustees!). However, it also only happens because people do what they can do. We ask people to pledge so that we can plan, so that we can keep being the Union Church.
A couple of things underpin this effort that I think should go forward with us into the future. First, we are grateful for every way that members share their gifts. Whether you are a teacher or a choir member or a work trip leader, we are grateful for what you’re doing. These days, religious people have a reputation for dealing in guilt and shame. At the Union Church, we deal in grattitude. May that always be so!
Second, when it comes to financial gifts, we promise people respect and anonymity. Other than moments where someone has placed a check in my hands, I have worked really hard to not know what anyone gives financially. Why do I do this? I do this because I don’t want anyone to ever question whether what I’m doing as a pastor is shaped by that knowledge: “Of course he cares about them! They’re big givers.” Nope! I care about every member of this church family simply because they are a part of this church family. A handful of people are part of record keeping. Beyond that, those details are no one’s business. Again, may this always be so!
Third, when it comes to the church’s finances, our goal has always been to be as transparent as possible. If you have a question, unless it crosses those confidentiality boundaries, we will do our best to answer it. If you have a good idea, we will do our best to incorporate it. If you have too many good ideas, we will recruit you to be a Trustee and make you listen to other people’s good ideas! One more time…may it always be so!
The bottom line is that whenever a need has arisen, people have stepped up to meet the need. Long ago, when it snowed like crazy one day and I was worried about the roof. I threw a ladder up on the side of the church and crawled up with my shovel. When I crested the roof, the head of Building and Landscape was already there, shoveling. For years, in August, when everyone knew the budget was in a shortfall, that one member would quietly drop off a check for $5000 to make sure the church made it through. Any number of times, when we needed a teacher or a choir member or an extra casserole to pass at the potluck, people recognized and met those needs.
“Thank you!” That’s what I want to say to each and every one of you. Thank you for being so giving, so generous, and so faithful for so many years.