A Harvest of Gratitude
From Giving To Generosity
“I regret to inform you that we are faced with a severe crisis here at …..” “We can‘t provide these vital services without help from caring friends like you.”
How many letters of solicitation have you received this year with pleas like these? (I have gotten dozens of them). Here at The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, we do, of course, ultimately calculate our annual budget in terms of nickels and dimes (think about that!), but as we begin our discussions of our financial needs and how we can respond, let‘s shift our thinking a few degrees from “giving” to “generosity.”
On generosity has this church been built. We long have reaped the benefits of the bequests of countless numbers of former members who, though nameless to so many of us, are still supporting the church today. Take Elizabeth Smart Rooker, for example. She was the widow of the Rev. Mr. James Rooker, pastor here from 1818 to 1826 and the father of 21 children; because of lack of financial resources, the minister‘s $600 yearly salary sometimes could
not be paid on time. At Mrs. Rooker‘s death in 1852, however, she left $200 for a reduction of the church‘s debt. That is generosity.
In recent years, the dedicated giving of members has permitted us to move steadily ahead with our commitment in carrying out the high fulfillment of our mis-sion as well as to honor the ex-pertise and talent of our staff. Last year, sorrowfully, we had to reevaluate what we could do in mission and with staff because our giving had fallen below the level of generosity. But, now, a year later, at this harvest time, we have the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to as high a level of generosity as, of course, our individual circumstances genuinely will permit Just as the earth yields it bounty, so, too, may we be moved to give gladly of our largesse and, in so doing, to rededicate ourselves to God.
One of the early leaders of the Ethical Society in London, Percial Chubb, wrote in " Harvest of Gratitude, that "From the harvest of the soil we are given occa-sion to garner a harvest of the heart and mind: a harvest of resolve to be careful stewards of all life‘s gifts and opportunities…a harvest of gratitude for every good which we enjoy."
As stewards, do not all of us have enough to be more generous in our sharing with others to make certain that the church with which we have united rests on financially-strong ground.
If "giving" may be called a Presbyterian word, can we not once again make "generosity a word and action of The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown?