Food for Thought

This Sunday, January 8, we will give thanks and dedicate commitments of financial support for our church in the coming year, both pledges and ongoing gifts. There will also be a potluck lunch following the worship service.

Coincidence? Not really.

Both are in some way an invitation to give of what we have for a common good – a shared purpose.

Whether it is a casserole, a main dish, a salad, or dessert, our potluck offering involves our giving of our time, our talent, and our resources. And we are all blessed by the bountiful variety of what is shared.

A stewardship campaign certainly emphasizes a commitment of financial support for the church. But there is also the opportunity, the need, for us to give our time and talents: i.e., to make our whole-hearted promise to participate as best we are able in worship, prayer, study, and service.

One is essentially about food and fellowship, the other financial and organizational. But both are about what we choose to give that we might nourish – whether literally our bodies, or metaphorically our church (the Body of Christ) – that each of us (and all of us) may flourish as children of God, followers of Jesus, striving together to love and serve our God, who calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and care for all Creation that has been entrusted to us.

So, if we are to be more faithful and fruitful, what we dedicate this Sunday may be less about our giving to the church, and more about our commitment to be the church.