Reflection from Gail Bindley-Taylor
Posted on October 1, 2024 by admin No comments
BELONG, BELOVED, BE GENEROUS
As I reflect on this year’s Stewardship campaign that is about to begin, two things stand out for me. The faith of this small group of parishioners who have put themselves forward to do this work of Stewardship, stepping out of their comfort zones, because they believe in this church community they call their spiritual home. Second, their collective wisdom that led to our decision to create a campaign this year around words and meaning that resonate within this community, with the hope that we will win over hearts and minds and foster a spirit of generous giving. For their gifts and their generous giving I thank them.
When I look around our table and out at our friend Charlene who joins us by Zoom every Monday evening, I am reminded of how important the feeling of belonging and being beloved is. John 4: 7 reminds us “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” But to belong we need to feel a sense of being connected, an intuition felt deep within that this place feels like home. That is certainly what many who come through our church doors feel instantly as I did on the Christmas morning that I entered those red doors some 18 plus years ago.
It is because we love St. Paul’s and think of it as our spiritual home that many of us give of our time and talent, (in my case, serving in choir, being a lector and an usher, leading the Justice Ministry and most recently serving as Co Warden) and our treasure. In yours, whatever time you devote to the many ministries that keep this church alive and relevant. Your time and your talent, your skills and wisdom
matter to who we are as a church community and what we have to offer to our community of Norwalk and beyond.
It is also this love that moves us to be generous and to give, as 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 calls us to do, “bountifully.” You may well say “and what happens if I don’t have enough to give bountifully?” Then give what you can from that bounty, no matter how little, as “God loves a cheerful giver. “ Last year I pledged an amount I was really unsure whether I would be able to fulfil, but because I wanted to give of my “first fruits” and not my leftovers, I decided that I would do whatever I needed to put God first. Fulfilling my pledge as someone who lives on a pension and is on a fixed income is a matter for me of personal pride and of truly living out the biblical verse on which our theme this year is founded, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” As I write I am contemplating my gift this year knowing well our financial situation as a Church and some of the bold and important goals we would like to set for ourselves in 2025, chief among them being to balance the budget, know more is required of me. So, I pray for God’s guidance before I put my pledge in, which I will do this Friday and I know whatever the answer will be, it will be enough and more than enough to allow for the continuation of God’s call to us to heal, advocate visit, feed, accompany, protect, advocate for, and love our neighbor Won’t you join me in prayerfully making your pledge to St. Paul for 2025?
Gail Bindley-Taylor, Stewardship Committee Chair