26 Pentecost

Stewardship Sunday

 

November 17, 2024

 

Daniel 12.1-3; Mark 13:1-8

 

 

+ As you know, we originally scheduled Stewardship Sunday for last Sunday.

 

But, then the election happened.

 

Which is part of the reason we’re doing it this week and not last week.

 

And I have to say, I’m actually kind of all right that we are doing it Stewardship Sunday today.

 

Because I think it’s important, as we face the realities of our common future, that we realize how important our St. Stephen’s community is in times like this.

 

This is our main point to concentrate on right now.

 

Our community.

 

Right here.

 

And how it important it is to us.

 

How vital it is to have a place to come to where we feel safe, where we feel included, where we feel that, whatever may come, we will have each other.

 

This is what the Church should be, after all.

 

I think, in the face of Christian Nationalism and milquetoast statements from church leader, or just the deafening silence I hear from colleagues recently, it is important for us to find our community in times like this and find out strength in numbers.

 

Stewardship is as good a time as any to do so.

 

What do we do when we feel helpless?

 

Well, we just do something.

 

Or, when we can’t ourselves, we look to those who are close to us who can.

 

St. Stephen’s has always been that place.

 

We have always stood up and spoken out against injustice and inequality in our world.

 

And we will continue to do so.

 

That is not limited to political parties or party lines.

 

That is just a common human experience.

 

And you would think it is something that we all would be on board about.

 

Sadly, we’re not.

 

As I said, I am shocked by the either the lackluster responses or just the deafening silence of those who can and should be speaking out in the church.

 

So, it’s good to be in a community where we have the community we have.

 

It is the time for all of us to come together, to be this community.

 

We do that by pledging.

 

We do that by our stewardship.

 

We do that by stepping up and helping out.

 

Because we NEED each other right now.

 

Desperately.

 

We need the presence of people in our midst. In the pews.

 

We need your support, financially.

 

We need your muscle and your voice to pitch in and speak out.

 

You wouldn’t think this little parish in this kind of obscure corner of Fargo would be the place it is.

 

But here we are.

 

Just yesterday, St. Stephen’s was featured in an article on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (or PETA) website.

 

Whatever you might think of PETA, this interview is being seen by tons of people.

 

I’ll post a link.

 

As you know, people call us on a regular basis from all over the country, to commend us for the stances we made in the media, or on our website, or just by our presence.

 

You may remember a few months a go a woman from the East Coast left a message here out of the blue one day saying she wanted desperately to implement some of the things we do here at St. Stephen’s at her parish there.

 

Those kind of comments shock me.

 

We, who are in the midst of it, we don’t feel like we’re doing anything all that different here.

 

But we really are.

 

Sometimes just by our mere presence.

 

Most of us have come here from other congregations in which we have experienced some hardship or oppression or some very unchristian-like behavior.

 

For most of us, that is why we are here at St. Stephen’s.

 

Many came here because this is a refuge from the difficulties of other religious communities.

 

And I am very grateful today for us being that place.

 

We are also a place in which people are not only welcomed but included because of who they are.

 

This is who we are and who we always have been.

 

We are the ones always, it seems, on the forefront.

 

We were on the forefront of women being fully included in the Church back in the 1970s—the first parish in this diocese to have women Lay Readers, women wardens, women acolytes and w0men clergy.

 

We were on the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement, being the first to welcome and include queer people, to marry queer people, to fight for the ordination of queer people. (Sadly, we didn’t win some of those battles at the time)

 

And we are still on the forefront.

 

This is who St. Stephen’s has always been.

 

And one area that I am very grateful for here at St. Stephen’s is our continual presence and work in the larger Diocese, now especially as we head in our Bishop’s election in 2025.

 

We continue to be a force in this diocese—a very solid force.

 

And a much-needed (and maybe a bit too loud) voice.

 

And as we all move forward, as I said, this is why we need each other, especially now.

 

All of this is why we need this Stewardship time.

 

It is a time for us to look long and hard at what it means to be a part of our parish of St. Stephen’s.

 

It means supporting it with our financial resources, so we can continue to stand up, to speak out, to be the place we have always been, especially now.

 

For some that means tithing—giving from the 10% of one’s income.

 

For others it means giving from what you can give.

 

But it is knowing full well that we can’t do these things—like being a vital, vibrant and outspoken parish in this community, in the Church and the world especially in the days that are to come, without financial resources.

 

We as a parish need to be prepared for whatever that might be.

 

But it means more than that too.

 

It means giving of our time and our talents.

 

It means that we don’t just get to sit on our hands and let others do the work.

 

Or just let Fr. Jamie do the work.

 

It means we ALL need to stand up and speak out.

 

It means we also roll up our sleeves and make sure the day-to-day stuff still happens.

 

It means serving as an acolyte, or on altar guild, or in coffee hour, or singing as cantor, or playing music with James, or finding ways to make the church beautiful.

 

It means giving of our artistic talents.

 

Or it means being a loud and proud representative of St. Stephen’s in the community and the world.

 

It means speaking out and protecting our gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans sisters and brothers, because they still definitely need us to do so.  

 

It means serving on our annual Pride in the Park, or speaking out against unfair treatment of refugees, or protesting racists and white supremacists.

 

It means going to the mosque and help clean up after hate crimes are committed against our Muslim or Jewish sisters and brothers.

It means not supporting anything that leads to further division or hate or injustice in our community and society.

 

It means literally being a follower of Jesus not only here in church on Sunday, but every single moment of our entire lives.

 

Because all of that is who we are too.

 

And have always been.

 

This is not rocket science.

 

This is not quantum physics.

 

This is basic Christianity that we are doing here at St. Stephen’s.

 

Basic Christianity, as we live it out here at St. Stephen’s, is nothing more than following Jesus in his commandment to love God and love one another as we love ourselves.

 

To love God.

 

And to love others.

 

It means living out our Baptismal Covenant.

 

It means saying that all people deserve the rites of this Church fully and completely.

 

It is a matter of LOVE.

 

I know. I preach it all the time. And you’re probably sick of hearing me preaching about love all the time. But…you know what?

 

That’s tough.

 

Because love DOES make a difference.

 

To love—fully and completely.

 

To love—radically and inclusively.

 

I personally don’t see that as all that radical.

 

I see that being as fairly basic.

 

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus saying, “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”

 

These words of Jesus are especially poignant for us on this particular Sunday.

 

There is lots of talk right now about turmoil and rumors of turmoil.

 

Jesus uses a very interesting description of these fears and pains—images of war and turmoil and upheaval and their rumors.

 

He calls them “birth pangs.”

 

And I think “pang” is the right word to be using here, for us at this moment.

 

Yes, it may be painful to be going through what we may be going through when we face an uncertain collective future and when we stand up for what we believe is right.

 

The future may, at times, seem bleak.

 

There will be wars and rumors of wars.

 

But the words we cling to—that we hold on to and find our strength in to bear those pangs—in these difficult times is in the words “do not be alarmed.”

 

Do not be alarmed.

 

There is a calmness to Jesus’ words.

 

In the midst of turmoil, we are called to be a community, together, to stand up together, to speak out, together.

 

Because in the end, God will always triumph.

 

And God always provides!

 

If we place our trust—our confidence—in God, we will be all right.

 

Yes, we will suffer birth pangs, but look what comes after them.

 

It is a loving and gracious God who calms our fears amidst calamity and rumors of calamity.

 

Our job is to live as fully as we can right now. Right here.  

 

Our job is to simply do what we’ve always been doing here at St. Stephen’s.

 

To welcome, to accept, to love. To not judge.

 

To stand up and protect those who need us to do so for them.

 

We have this moment.

 

This holy moment was given to us by our loving and gracious God.

 

This Stewardship Sunday is about us doing our part as a congregation that does the things St. Stephen’s does.

 

Yes, it means giving money to this congregation.

 

It also means giving of our time and energy.

 

Of our very selves, even when we’re tired.

 

Evenw hen we’re drained.

 

Even when we’re ready to give up.

 

On Stewardship Sunday, we are being asked to serve as well.

 

To serve in love.

 

To serve fully as Jesus calls us to serve and love.

 

So, let us, on this Stewardship Sunday, continue to do what we’ve been doing.

 

 Let us welcome radically and love radically.

 

Let us give of ourselves fully, so that we can serve fully.

 

Let us, in our following of Jesus, continue to strive to be a powerful and visible conduit of the Kingdom of God in our midst.

 

It’s already happening.

 

Right now.

 

Right here.

 

In our midst.

 

It is truly a time in which to be grateful and hopeful.