Andy asked me to speak with you this morning.  This falls into the category of things that I prefer not to do—but will go ahead and do anyway.  

As a mom of young children, I’m familiar with doing things that I would not choose on my own.  Sometimes, it’s awful.  Sometimes, it’s bearable.  Sometimes, it’s quite fun.  

I do such things because I love my family.  I’m standing here (against my instinct) because I love each of you and because I love what we all do together.

Andy didn’t give me a lot of direction for what to say, so I’ve thought of three things:

Number 1.  

This church has been through a lot.  One thing I noticed this year is that we are an engaged, caring, and well-intentioned group.  

Our Christianity unifies us. 

Our yearning to support God’s work unifies us.  

Our love of worship and fellowship in this church unifies us.  

That brings me to Number 2.

We are unified, but we are not a monolith.  We don’t have the same amount of money.  We don’t have the same workplace flexibilities.  We don’t have the same gifts and talents.  We don’t have the same amount of time.  

To my mind, that’s a good thing.  No matter our circumstances, we all have some ways that we can contribute. That’s plural – some ways.  

Your very presence this morning is a contribution.  Your welcoming smile, your singing, your prayers, your offerings—those are all contributions that you all make routinely.  

Now comes Number 3.

We are called to do more.  

In any Stewardship Season, we are called to do more.  And, because our church has been through a lot this year (recall thought Number 1 from moments ago), this season presents a particularly good opportunity for each of us to do more.  

Thankfully, we all have some things to contribute.  And, because we are not a monolith (recall Number 2)—we can all find ways to contribute that will not overlap—but that will add to the great work of this Christian body.  

Some of us are great at making people feel welcome.  Some of us can carry a tune.  Some of us can cook.  Some of us can corral energetic children and teach them about God’s love.  Some of us can visit people in their homes.  Some of us can balance a budget.  Some of us can organize missions.  

There is so much to do.  And, our collective talents will allow us to do it.  We just have to commit—or re-commit—ourselves to this church and to doing God’s work in all the ways that we can.

To my optimistic mind, the Stewardship Season requires self-reflection and a thoughtful assessment of (1) what we have been doing with our money, time, and talents, (2) what we believe we can comfortably manage in those areas now, and (3) how much more we can stretch from that comfort zone.

I call it a stretch because scripture doesn’t really support doing only what’s comfortable.  

Instead, we’re supposed to push farther, trusting that God has us.  

Stretching farther . . . Doing more . . . isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s often more do‑able than we think.  

If I were your personal trainer, I’d suggest that you add 2 and a half pounds to each end of the barbell and get in a few more reps.  If I were your walking buddy, I’d offer to walk an extra half mile with you in the morning.  If I were your teacher, I’d figure out what books you like and hand you something new that might tempt you to read more.

We often can do more than we think we can.  Our church needs us to do more.

But, I’m not your personal trainer.  Our your walking buddy.  And, I’m not your teacher (unless you’re a second grader in our Sunday School class). 

But, I am your fellow church member, and I will say we each have some ratio of money, time, and talent to give.  My family is committed to looking at our financial giving, to looking at how our talents might be useful, and to sharing more of our time.  

If we each stretch a little more, we’ll be awed at what this church family can do.  

Doing more—finding new ways to contribute—will be hard in many ways, I’m sure.  But, I am also sure that there is no better way for Christians to struggle than by giving more to God’s church and God’s world.  

Please join us.