Thinking Big

We are in the midst of our annual stewardship campaign. We are seeking pledges to build a budget and accomplish all our goals as a parish. The pledge is our primary vehicle of support, but I want to share some interesting thoughts from Harriet Dicicco, our junior warden. She is thinking big!


And something to grow on….

Participating in our community – be it Wednesday or Sunday worship services in our Chapel, the events and meetings in our Parish Hall or elsewhere – I am drawn to the many ways in which God moves, works and is celebrated.

Certainly, God is celebrated in tangible ways in our physical site. The stained glass windows. The organ. The trees. We all hear comments about our church’s beauty, about the special spiritual ambiance of our chapel.

And I watch God at work through us in our Parish Hall. A physical space whose value lies in the more intangible - enabling community to come together to work, to socialize, to support, to learn – at times for parishioners and other times, for our larger community.

And I think about how God moves each of us to become more fully His disciples and to use our time, talent and treasures to create a world which honors and practices His tenets. Assuredly, we are able to do some of this on our own but I have found that my faith is strengthened and clarified when I am a part of a community. And so, it is timely to reflect on how I can give to that community and to myself.

Certainly our pledges are the backbone of ‘operating’ St. Columba’s on a daily basis – our ‘meat and potatoes’ – feeding ourselves, our souls by ensuring that we have a place where we come together and a rector and staff to see to our needs. Our pledges are monies to operate on.

But what about ‘dessert’? What about monies to grow on? Monies that we may give but may never see used. What about those?

There are many members of our community whose gifts we are enjoying though they are no longer with us. Thanks to the Jelke Family, we have an organ and the ability to hear, and for some, sing in praise of God and His works.

The Harold Brooke Family ensures that we are able to nurture our property.

Parishioners’ generosity enable us to enjoy our stained glass windows….and the ever-changing light which filters through them throughout the seasons– a reminder for us of God’s ability to light us and our lives.

And think of those who contributed to the campaign for the Parish Hall….

So many people have provided us with ‘dessert’ because they contributed monies to grow on.

I would love to be able to provide a dessert on the scale of crème brulee…but I am not going to wait until I can. For now, in addition to my weekly pledge for monies to operate on, I also contribute separate monies for dessert. Granted, my dessert is more on the scale of the chocolate chip cookie or the cupcake. But, for me what matters is the sharing towards something not yet envisioned, something that may make a difference to a person or people I may never meet. Something that will, in some way, help people and a community to connect with God.

I invite you to think about dessert. About making a contribution beyond your weekly pledge. Monies to grow on.

God is about community, communities. Each one of us may contribute the equivalent of a cupcake – but when we put these cupcakes all together – ah, just think of what an amazing dessert we can create.