Selection from sermon by Rev. Linda Olson Peebles
“Commitment to Be The Light” delivered March 7
UU Cville Community Worship
2021 Pledge Drive: “Be the Light”
T
his is a pivotal moment for UUCville. You have been at the edge of real peril, real loss. But you have a strong will to survive! You have been turning back from that edge, and have a strong desire to not just recover, but to discover your new day, stronger and healthier than ever! And here we are at the moment of commitment – the pledge drive, when you will be asked – will you make sure you are ready for the Great Turning?Will you be able to go strongly into the new normal, post-covid, post-crisis? It is a tough question, a challenging one, And I have told the Board – we are only asking you for your pledges now – in this month of March. We won’t keep waiting into the spring, into the summer. If we don’t get a promise of enough money – about $100,000 more than last year – you will start next year without staff. It’s now! NOW is the time when we must prepare ourselves for next year – and we need to know what we will have or won’t have to work with.
Can tell you something, in love, with compassion? You have a reputation of being ungenerous people – your average per-individual pledge levels are pretty far below other congregations. I hear that this has been a struggle for decades. So many of your members pledge nothing or just a little, I had to ask your Board – is this a congregation filled with mostly poor people? Because of course, no one should be expected to give beyond their means. But no; some of our members do face economic hardship – and for them, we still ask a pledge – as a promise of being involved – knowing that pledge can be for a few dollars and a lot of commitment.
No – the challenge seems to be understanding that pledging to give to a congregation is NOT like paying a membership fee or buying an admission ticket. And giving donations, while appreciated, is NOT as helpful as pledging, predicting what you will give. That is the only way we together can plan for your future. Pledges of giving are an investment in the well-being of the whole, in your HOME, and there is no one to support this congregation except YOU! Your average per capita annual pledge is $1,000 below what it takes nowadays to support the most basic of a church’s work.
So that is why it may seem like you are not generous people. But that doesn’t make sense to me. I have seen how generous you are when we ask you to give to feed the poor or provide shelter to the homeless. How generous you are with our monthly Social Action collections. With our holiday seasonal giving campaigns. So I know you ARE a generous people – with others .
My confusion is this – why aren’t you generous with YOURself? With your own families and children and beloved elders? Don’t you see that giving to the congregation is giving to yourself – and giving to the health of this religious home strengthens your capacity to give to the wider community? Don’t you think you are worth it? I think you are definitely worth it. I think you are thoughtful and lovable people, and you do SO much good in the world – you bring your ethical values and your altruistic compassion SO needed by your neighbors.
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o – please – DON’T starve yourselves! Especially not now, as you have just survived falling off the edge, and you have the chance to get back to your shared journey of vibrant ministry to one another and the world. Of course, some of you are hurting financially – you’ve lost jobs, or had extra expenses. You can make a pledge at the level that makes sense for you. But I believe that many of you can give more than you have before – and I urge you to consider that.And I give thanks to those who have decided to give MORE to help support all of us. Good things are happening in this congregation. Yes, you’ve had hard times, and you feel a little bruised. Yes, we are all weary of the Covid isolation and the violence and angst in our politics. But good things are happening!! Right now! So this is the PERFECT time to be generous and give enough money to this congregation so that it can continue to come out of the shadows.
DON’t risk missing this moment. BE a part of the new day. BE a part of the light! Commit to the “Great turning”, to the future, to the new normal. Commit to reset your journey, to face the crises and BE the light which becomes the opportunity for a new normal.
Ignite the fire of your commitment, and see the light in one another – and then commit to BE the light that this congregation, this world NEEDS! Amen!
– Rev. Linda