By the Rev. Jered Weber-Johnson
All things come of thee
Every Sunday at the 8 o’clock Eucharist, we conclude the offertory, the moment we collect and receive the gifts and oblations of our life and labor, by saying the words adapted from 1 Chronicles “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” These words perfectly summarize the Jewish and Christian belief that God is the source of all that is. There is nothing in existence that came to be without the creating and sustaining power of God. That includes the things we claim as personal belongings and acquired wealth. These things come from God. So, in humility, we offer back to God what was rightfully God’s all along. This giving back is an act of gratitude and a way to train our hearts and minds to acknowledge our place in the cosmos as finite, mortal, and interdependent.
Healing the world
More than this, our giving back is an act of healing the world. Our gifts, faithfully given, are used to further the work of restoration and reconciliation that we, as the body of Christ, are called to be about. We feed hungry mouths and souls, house the homeless, equip others for the work of pastoral care, steward the implements of liturgy and sacred space so that we can worship God in the beauty of holiness, nurture children and adults in the knowledge and love of God, bring healthcare to other lands, and practice the most radical thing we can do in this age of division – share hospitality and stories and relationship with people who may not all be exactly like us. This is where our gifts given in and through the church go to furthering the work of healing the world.
Our gifts are most often and appropriately given in the context of the Eucharist – the liturgy wherein we give thanks and praise to God. But, our gifts require planning and preparation – just as God planned for creation and all that is in it, so our giving back requires great intention and foresight. Each year we plan for the work of the church in our annual Pledge Campaign. We ask each member to consider his or her own gift and how it can help us accomplish the work we’ve been given to do. Another lesser known way that we invite our members to intentionally give a gift is through what is traditionally called “Planned Giving”.
Planting gardens and trees
Theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard writes that “It is quite true what philosophy says: life must be understood backwards. But then one forgets the other principle: that it must be lived forwards.” Planned giving takes seriously the reality of death and invites us to faithfully prepare for our end and live towards it by making plans to provide for God’s mission in the world even after we’re gone. If annual giving represents planting a garden to feed the community, planned giving represents planting trees that will shade and protect that garden and community for many many years. Our prayerbook invites this approach of beginning with the end in mind at the conclusion of the Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, saying “The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people …to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.”
An Invitation
St. John’s practices planned giving by willingly accepting planned gifts in a number of different formats including (but not limited to) Life Estates, Charitable Annuities, Remainder Trusts, Retirement Plans, Life Insurance, and much more. Last month, we sent out information about St. John’s planned giving program. (Click here to see the full brochure.) We invite you to take this opportunity to consider faithfully how God is using St. John’s to further the work of God’s reconciling mission in the world, and how you can be a part of that work long after you are gone. Any member of our stewardship committee would welcome speaking with you about your planned gift, and how to ensure it goes to the work we share through this faith community.
Originally published in the May-June 2018 Evangelist.
