Some years ago I made the decision to tithe, not to test the parables of Jesus on giving, or to see if what He taught was true, but because I hoped to walk in grace with God and my fellow man. I cannot tell you when that happened, but for sure somewhere the seed had been planted and had grown. I could not deny my faith in Christ. What happened to me and now looking into some faces that I do not know, it has happened to them also.

I’m not one person standing here to reaffirm my faith or for you to reaffirm yours. Many stand here with me. Many before have stood here and given that encouragement to totally trust Christ in the management of what we have been blessed, be it great or small.

Four years ago the grim reaper knocked on my door. I was in a foreign land and having a stroke. I asked my wife to call the equivalent of 911. In that time before I became unconscious, I knew that I wanted to talk to God one last time, before I perhaps passed from this world into his. My prayer to Him and I repeat it to you now. “Father, I thank you for the blessings given me. I thank you for my life. I do not want to die. I hope you have something else for me to do. But, if you do not, I am ready.” My brother and sisters, I survived that stroke and a second two weeks later. As my paralyzed body healed and became stronger, the paralysis slowly left. I walk with out aid. I was left with my voice. I do not know, perhaps God wanted me to walk here today for you to hear this message. It is a message of LOVE and maybe for some a message of Tuff LOVE.

The numbers game: I like number games and let’s go over St. Margaret’s numbers.

St. Margaret’s has about 800 families and 2,000 members more or less. About $1,000,000 was pledged in 2002, but not all pledges have been fulfilled.

Only 400 family pledges were received in 2002. That is just 50%. 400 families carry 400 families that do not pledge. I was stunned at this. Let’s do some more numbers: 400 families’ times $2,500 gets us One Million Dollars. If every family gave a $1,000 (800) pledge, we have only $800,000, 20% too little to operate this house of the Lord. So, 400 families are carrying the load financially for the 50% of families that do not pledge. Only 41 families, only forty-one families pledged $5,000 or more to St. Margaret’s last year. We must be a POOR parish. NOT PLEDGING IS NOT A SIN, but I can find nowhere, where Jesus said that it was okay to let others carry this load for you.

Everyone is welcome at St. Margaret’s Church, with or without a pledge. Some of her members have been blessed with more resources and they certainly give more than $2,500 per year. But, where do some stand. If money is the problem, time and talent are more than acceptable for part of your pledge. Listen to this parable, and GOD FORBID THAT YOU ARE A WEED! Mathew 13:24-30. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ He said to them, ‘an enemy has done this.’ “Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

But he said, ‘No lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat in my barn.’”

Pledging is easy. Pledging is sowing good grain.

Many of you may not know that you can pay your pledge with a credit card. If you pledged $1,000 a year, that is $20 per week and that would be on an income of $12,000. This could tax some of us, so if it does, one can volunteer and fulfill a necessary pledge with time and talent to St. Margaret’s. If you had a $25,000 income, that would be $200 per month…..$50,000 income is $100 per week, $100,000 net income would be to pledge $10,000 per year, and with these numbers you can see where we could take St. Margaret’s work and I’m not talking about big raises for the staff. I’m talking about building God’s Kingdom for those that do no now have an opportunity to know Christ as we do.

In Luke, chapter 6, Jesus tells us “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will put in your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

I lived in Idaho and worshipped in a small parish. Winter and deep snow always came early. We were rebuilding a once thriving congregation and had now only 25 or 30 families. We had only supply priests and deacons available to us. A member of the parish, in fact two, gave stewardship messages on successive Sundays. Katie came to church every Sunday and brought her son, about ten years old and her daughter about six or seven years old. The boy wore sneakers that were almost worn out. The little girl’s dress was often a summer dress and too small. Trudging through the snow did not seem to bother them.

Katie worked at odd jobs, wherever she could find work, but always put something in the offering plate, coins or a dollar. Katie had a good heart. The week after the pledge talk, she wrote a check for $15. I was the parish treasurer. The second week, again, a check for $15. I so wanted to tell Katie that she should keep her money and please buy yourself some winter shoes and her son and daughter some new warm winter clothes. The best I could figure, and she later told me, that she believed the WORD and made up her mind to tithe on her $600 monthly income.

Winter passed and about in May, Katie was offered a job that paid $24,000 per year. Katie raised her pledge. Her faith was rewarded. She just wanted God to provide for herself and her kids. Katie had a good heart. “For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” You cannot serve God and money! I must tell you that I pay my pledge with my American Express Delta Sky miles credit card. I use it for everything possible. Groceries, gasoline, travel, restaurants, wherever it is accepted. For every dollar charge I get one frequent flyer mile. When I’ve chard $25,000, I am eligible for a free round-trip coach trip anywhere in the USA to use or give away. In the beginning I had a problem with since I didn’t have anything to put in for the offering at the Eucharist. Now I write a check to the priest discretionary fund or here at St. Margaret’s it is called the Alms Fund. For me it was a matter or symbol of giving and participating in totality of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

There are many credit cards, including various Visa and Master Cards that offer air miles and some will let you choose your own airline. You can instruct the church office when you want your pledge to be charged; monthly or quarterly or you name it. Of course you have the choice to give your pledge any way you choose.

We have gone through the biggest stock market loss in history the last two years. We might blame the broker or financial planner, but when it comes to the real investment in life and eternity, we have only one place to go!

Christ did not set up a mutual fund for us, where someone else will manage our faith for us. We have to make that investment ourselves and manage it ourselves.

If Christ were our broker or planner for our investment in eternal life, these are things that might be asked; “have we time to work on this investment for eternal life?” Yes, we have all the time.

Then He might ask, “Do we have the temperament to make this investment for eternal life? Can you forgive, can you love, will you give, will you be my disciple, and will you follow me?”

Then He might ask if we have a talent to offer to Him. We do, we all do.

Then one final question: “What is our time horizon?” “How much longer do we have to live?” We will not receive a hint from HIM. We cannot wait to pay our due to God.

Then God might say to us, “I hope that you do not become infected with FEAR and GREED as some investors in my program have tried to do. I’m offering you a Value Line of Eternal Life. I want you to have aggressive growth, steady growth. You will receive great dividends in my plan. No worry, I can handle any type of concern just give it to me. And, one more thing, there are no reports, no rating, no analyst needed. You are buying an annuity for eternity. But you have to start paying today, because I never disclose a time horizon for my clients.”

My friend, the year 2003 can be a banner year for St. Margaret’s Church. Look at what you have and look at what you really need. If it is there and you need to play catch on your investment with God’s plan, Do it!

You may not know about DOP’s and DRIP’s, but I can assure you there are no Limit orders with God where we can name our own price. There are no Stop/Limit Orders or Stop/Loss Orders. There are only Market Orders and we must pay his price. It is a great value. Do not hesitate to buy in. You will be glad you did.

We live in a very special growing community. Many of us are here only part of the year. My wife and I are such people.

We are all important to the financial health and prosperity of St. Margaret’s. Do not take generosity away when you leave the valley. You are part of us and we in you. We are family. Christ’s family.

Many of us had not the opportunity to help build this facility where today we worship. Many of us did not know Brad Hal, a man with a vision of what we enjoy in this place today. Many who helped fulfill this vision are gone. We hold the future in our hands for God’s work.

Your Vestry has accepted a challenge gift of One Million Dollars to be matched and we will probably need more to build a mission church on the farm property. We may never in our lifetime have again the opportunity to see something so fine done with our gifts. Some of you will have been able to help build two churches dedicated to the Lord’s work. Plan to be a generous part of God’s work in this endeavor.

Let this be a LOVE year in your stewardship. The love of giving. St Paul said, “For love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrong but rejoices in right. Love bears all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Remember: The supreme accomplishment of our stewardship is to blur the line between Giving and Receiving!

esterday is gone, today is ours and tomorrow belongs to God.

Let us pray:

eavenly Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. That the gift of life that you give, the blessings that we have received and the faith that we go forth with this day will be used to expand Your Kingdom in many ways. We can offer our time to give to you, our talent that you have given to us to share with others and not the least of all, to give our fair share of material resources that have enabled us to have food on our table, a roof over our head and gifts for the needy, and this place in which to worship. But most of all for your lasting faith in us, as followers of your teachings that we will do right and respond to the words of the Prophets and Your beloved Son and go forth with a renewed pledge of trust and give thanks and thank offerings for all of these, our many blessings. Amen

Mr. R.G. Reeder