2 Thessalonians
1:11-12
The stewardship committee contacted me
before I left for vacation and made me promise I would return home with a
sermon that would inspire you to great heights as you turn to the
responsibility of filling out your pledge card for the year 2014. Talk about
ruining a vacation! I would rather have my teeth cleaned than write a sermon on
stewardship. But since Walt and the gang have been working so hard to wisely
use your gifts, the least I can do is steal a moment from the grandchildren to
search for a bit of inspiration.
Paul wrote to his friends in the church of Thessalonica, “We pray that God will
make you worthy of God’s call.” What has God called Rockfish Presbyterian to
be? I am sitting in a bedroom being prepared to welcome my first granddaughter
as I ponder this question. The child, still three months away, has already been
“blessed” with the name Siddalee. In case you are curious, Siddalee was the
main character in the book Divine Origins
of the Ya-Ya Sisters. For various reasons the book has had a lasting
influence on my daughter. Martina tells me the name Siddalee will inspire my
granddaughter to become a strong independent woman. While it takes more than a
name to achieve independence, this blessing placed upon Siddalee will serve as
a constant reminder of her parent’s desires.
Who are we, the members of Rockfish
Presbyterian Church called to be? At our birth, back in the 1740’s, what was
imagined that we might become? Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the first
sermon preached on that Sunday afternoon when this space was dedicated to God?
Perhaps it was seen as a meeting house where neighbors would gather once a week
to be inspired, share a meal and swap stories. I wonder if in the 1770’s folks gathered
here to read the latest documents by Jefferson or Thomas Paine. We know in the
1850’s these pews were occupied by folks wealthy enough to own slaves because
those same slaves sat in our balcony. Can you imagine the conversations that
must have filled these walls in the days leading to the spring of 1861? Who
were they? Who were they called to be?
For over 200 years farmers would gather
here to pray, read scriptures, hear a sermon and then spend a few hours with
neighbors before returning to the back breaking vocation of turning over the
soil and producing a crop. That is who they were and that was what they were
called to be.
Then in the late 1970’s skiing came to Nelson County.
Visitors from Maryland, Virginia
and the Carolina’s
would come to our beautiful valley. Condo’s were built to accommodate our
overnight guest. Then the unimaginable happened. Homes began to spring up
around two golf courses and Rockfish
Valley was invaded by
Yankees. For better or worse, Nelson
County and Rockfish
Presbyterian were instantly changed. Our membership quadrupled. New leadership
emerged that had been born in New Jersey, Indiana, New York and
even Georgia.
New ideas, new dreams, new expectations materialized. Suddenly Rockfish was not
our grandparent’s congregation. I once was told the goal of every church is to
have a house full of teenagers. Well that kind of describes us. You didn’t come
to Nelson County to retire. You came to play. And
along with all that energy you brought minds filled with fresh ideas, hearts over-flowing
with compassion, and hands eager to work.
You are a compassionate people. This
year your mission committee has budgeted over $35,000 to be spent by not for
profits and non-governmental organizations that work to assist children and the
elderly, the hungry, those without homes and those without hope. Better than two
thirds of that money will stay in Nelson
County. In addition to
this $35,000, Rockfish supports the programs of our General Assembly and the
Presbytery of the James. Add to that non-budgeted money for Care Bears and
other projects, it has been estimated this congregation probably spends close
to $60,000 helping thousands of folks do God’s work.
You work with your hands. With few
exceptions, every agency we support financially has someone from Rockfish who
is on the Board of the organization or serves as a volunteer. We know where the
money is going because we are the ones putting it into action.
And
then there are the other opportunities. How many of our neighbors would go cold
if it wasn’t for the Wood Ministry? How many of you know someone who has
received a prayer blanket? How many folks have been assisted by our Support
Group for families dealing with dementia?
And then, just when a family needs a miracle, Arlie and the
gang show up.
But
you know about all that stuff. So for a moment I want to speak about a
uniqueness Rockfish Presbyterian brings to Nelson County.
You really are a Light in the Valley. Inside these walls resides a freshness of
thought, a desire to communicate and a realization that one train of thought
will seldom if ever prevail. You are diverse group, politically, economically,
geographically and most of all theologically.
We
have a session consisting of 14 members, including the moderator and the Clerk.
I believe only five of those 14 were raised Presbyterian. Just to make us
honest, a Baptist and a Methodist minister worship here regularly. You come
here from a wide and varied theological journey.
Some
of you memorized the Apostle’s Creed at birth and say it proudly. Some of you
would rather not say it at all. Some of you don’t think twice about using a
masculine pronoun to describe God. Others find NO pronoun appropriate when
speaking of God. Some of you speak freely of joining relatives one day in heaven.
Some of you spend too much time worrying about eternal damnation. Some of you
are Universalist while others would prefer not to speak of heaven at all. Most
of you celebrate the Biblical characteristics of God as merciful, gracious,
slow to anger and steadfast in love while a few of you wonder if God even
exists. Let’s face the facts. We are a diverse group that uniquely and
beautifully fills this place where heresy meets doctrine and somehow they end
up in conversation with one another. I am not sure what to call it or even what
to make of it except somehow it seems we are constantly exploring,
challenging and embracing the mystery of
God and then exploring, challenging and embracing the mystery of the human condition.
We are amused and annoyed, confused and affirmed, breathless and filled with
that spirit, Holy or otherwise, that inspires our hearts and our hands to be
about this radical work which makes us unique.
Who
are we? We are folks given the unique opportunity to rise above the predictable
human condition and discover the fleeting and eternal possibilities of a new
heaven and new earth. We are good stewards, putting our money where our head
and our heart and our hands have already been. Who are we? We are Rockfish
Presbyterian, a people of God in a place created by God.
Be Bold. Be Demanding. Be Generous.
Dare
to celebrate being a unique Light to this Valley we so dearly love. Amen.
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