Enriching to What End?

"Enriching Ministries 2023-2024"

When the finance committee settled on this year’s stewardship drive theme just over a week ago, I didn’t hide the fact that I didn’t much like that theme. But I’m new here, and we were short of time, so I bowed to the decision of the group. I may have grumbled a bit on my way home from church that evening, but by morning I knew the committee had given me a gift: I’ve never had an opportunity to preach about enriched uranium before. More on that later.

Decades have passed since John Wolfe wrote the piece I read a few minutes ago about why people should join a Unitarian Universalist church. Although he didn’t specify what kind of support he was encouraging, I’ve always associated this piece with stewardship campaigns because of when and how I’ve seen it used by other colleagues over the years, namely in support of pledge drives. I sought it out for today’s service intending to use it as a sort of straw man. I intended to argue that Dr. Wolfe’s point would have been better served if he had written “the only reason to join a UU church is to support its ministry in and to the world”, instead of just “to support it”. I intended to point out that religious people and non-religious people alike criticize institutional religion of all sorts and varieties for raising money, and acquiring property, and erecting edifices instead of doing God’s work in the world. That even devoted church members, who attend services faithfully, volunteer, raise their children and benefit from their church membership and participation in ways large and small–even devoted, responsible church members think that churches spend too much time raising money, asking for donations, talking about money; think that it is unseemingly to expect church members to give money to the church regularly. I intended to argue that if he had emphasized the role of the church serving the community, his insistence on supporting the church as the primary reason for belonging would be more palatable.

But my re-reading of John’s words this week reminded me he wasn’t minister of one of our largest congregations for thirty-five years, a renowned preacher and a revered colleague for nothing. While I have no doubt at all that he was a successful fundraiser, and that members of All Souls Tulsa during his tenure (and subsequently) pledged generously to their church, his piece on the reason for joining a church does not, as I just pointed out, specify or single out financial support. And he does talk about the ministry of the church in the world–simply without using that language. Breaking down barriers between people, nurturing interfaith marriage (and had he been writing just a few years later John would have mentioned same sex marriages as well), supporting families in the raising of children, welcoming people in who are unwelcome elsewhere–while all of these might sound inwardly focused on a surface level, all of them in fact send healing ripples outward into the community and beyond.

Supporting the church may not be the only reason for joining, but it is one of the reasons for joining. And all of you on Zoom or here in the sanctuary who are members of this church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, promised to support it financially when you joined. Now that promise is coming due. You who may be members of others churches–well, sorry/not sorry. You probably didn’t expect to hear two stewardship sermons this year–one here and one at home, whenever your stewardship drive kicks off. Still, maybe you’ll carry something back with you, and your stewardship chair, at least, will be grateful you were here this morning!

There are many ways to support a church (or other institutions that matter in our lives). The leadership of our congregation, in writing the materials for the stewardship drive we kick-off today, has been careful to use a phrase common when talking about church giving–"time, talent and treasure". In other words, our leaders want you to know we don’t just want your money (your treasure); we also want your presence (your time) and your volunteerism (your talent). It’s not my favorite way of talking about giving to the church, but I understand why it is so common. Church stewardship committees and boards and some ministers are defensive about asking for money–we’ve heard the complaint that all we ever talk about is money, and the belief that church members should be left alone to donate to the church as the spirit calls them to do so, and the not-borne-out-in-fact argument that Unitarian Universalists give less to their congregations because they give more to other good causes. And, our church leaders know that not everyone can in fact give as regularly and as generously as they might like to the church. Our leaders don’t want to rile up the folks who think ‘enough money talk already’ and they don’t want to shame anyone who might be experiencing financial hardship. So, "time-talent-treasure" it is, with the last of these treasure.

But here’s the thing–two things, really: no one is fooled by this formulation. Anyone who has been around a church for any length of time knows that "time-talent-treasure" means "give us your money". And secondly, even if some of you hadn’t picked up yet on that translation, this is the stewardship drive. This is when we get real about the financial needs of the church and ask specifically over a period of several weeks for us all to consider the role and value of the church in our lives, and then to make a financial pledge commensurate with that role and that value.

We ask for your talent pretty much every week–with sign-up sheets in Rahn Hall, and calls for volunteers for RE or hospitality or ushering or participating in social action ministries in email blasts or live announcements during the service. We ask for your time every week, too. An hour a week, most weeks of the year, in Zoom worship, or an hour in the pew, plus drive-time, most weeks of the year. And, ok, yes, it is true we ask for your treasure every week, too, when we pass the plate or invite you to donate online. But the Sunday plate accounts for just under 3% of our budgeted donation income in the current fiscal year, while pledges account for 96% of our budgeted donation income. So, I believe we should be bold and shameless in our messaging during this stewardship season, instead of hoping you won’t notice we’re about to ask you for money.

Over the next several weeks you’ll hear from five or six church members about why this church is important in their lives and why they support it as generously as their means allow. Here’s my testimonial along those same lines:

I was raised in a church, a Unitarian Universalist church. If we were in town when Sunday morning rolled around, we were in church, driving from the suburbs into the city to the congregation we’d been invited to by one of Dad’s friends, who had himself been raised there. (Hint: if you want to grow the church, invite your friends.) Sunday School and children’s chapel for my siblings and me; worship service for my parents. And sometimes Sunday school for them, too, as they both volunteered as RE teachers. And Dad served two or three separate terms on the board. And Mom volunteered with Hmong immigrants, and at the front receptionist desk on weekdays, and she still bakes cookies for memorial services. During high school I went back on Sunday evenings to participate in the youth group. My sister and I were in the Christmas pageant. And now my sister, having raised her kids in that church, is active in various of its ministries. My brother, a reluctant church goer, nevertheless when required by the captain of his naval vessel to give away part of his paycheck, chose to support Unitarian Universalism. Both my siblings were married in that church; both had their children dedicated there. And when my dad got cancer, one of the ministers took on the role of Dad’s pastor, and both the ministers conducted his memorial service.

When I came of age at that church as a ninth grader, I was eligible, according to the bylaws, to sign the membership book. But my dad discouraged me. He felt strongly that membership requires a financial commitment. (Perhaps he’d heard John Wolfe’s thoughts on the matter). So I waited several years until I had a regular income that allowed me to pledge my financial support to the church.

In short, I give to the churches I’ve been a member of or have served because for fifty years my life and my family’s life has been inextricably woven through with Unitarian Universalist congregational life, woven into Unitarian Universalist congregational life. And because I was taught at a young age, not by the church but by my parents, that regular and generous financial support of the church is inseparable from membership in the church.

My pledge for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, $2400, is at least thirty percent lower than what I normally pledge. Maintaining two households for my daughter and myself, and increased travel costs associated with parenting her long distance have put strain on my personal budget. As circumstances allow, in coming years, I will increase my pledge toward my traditional goal of 5% of my income. I tell you this for two reasons: first, to be clear that in asking you to pledge generously I’m not asking anything of you that I don’t already ask of myself; and second, to assure you that neither the board, nor the finance committee, and least of all me, expect you to give more than you can afford to give. If your personal circumstances prevent you from increasing your pledge, or necessitate decreasing your pledge, or prohibit you from pledging at all at this time, your inherent dignity and worth will remain intact. Your spark of holiness will shine as brightly as it always has. If it is the case that you cannot make a pledge at this time, please don’t hesitate to be in touch with me. You’ll be granted a waiver, no questions asked.

Now, turning to uranium at last:

I’m not a chemist and I don’t play a physicist on television. Nevertheless I think what I’m about to say isn’t too far off base. Naturally occurring uranium is composed mostly of isotope 238. Uranium is artificially enriched in order to increase its percentage of isotope 235, which is the fissionable isotope. When fissioned, enriched uranium releases energy suitable for generating electricity in nuclear power plants. Highly enriched uranium, with even more isotope 235, when fissioned releases energy suitable for nuclear weapons.

There are many ways to figure out how much money you might pledge to the church. Tom provided a table in the stewardship mailing that is probably helpful to some of you. If you’re someone for whom that many numbers, in rows and columns, make your eyes glaze, consider this question: do you want to pledge enough money to enrich our ministries to the nuclear power plant level or to the nuclear weapon level?

Now, a friend cautioned me against using this analogy. And I suppose it could go horribly wrong, but bear with me. I’m not asking for actual nuclear power or nuclear weapons.

When we say our theme for this year’s stewardship drive is enriching ministries we could be talking about one of two things, or we could (and I think we are) be talking about both things. We could be talking about ministries that enrich the lives of our members and our wider community. Or we could be talking about enriching our ministries in order to strengthen, expand and deepen the benefits we receive from them. But we’re probably talking about enriching the ministries that already enrich our lives–both things at once. But how much do we want to enrich them?

Do we want to give about the same amount of money we always give, but maybe a token 5% increase over last year? Power plant level fiscal energy That would allow us to create one or two new programs, bring in an additional paid musician for the MLK, Jr. Day concert but not for Easter; maybe give our staff a little raise but not enough to keep up with COLA which Social Security is figuring at 8.7% this year.

Or do we want to give substantially more this year, at least 10%, maybe even 15% or 20%, more over last year’s pledge? Nuclear weapon level fiscal energy that would allow us to give our creative and professional and hardworking staff not just the full COLA but also some merit pay; that would allow us to to buy the groceries for the Strengthening Families meals, so that members on tight budgets could still cook and serve the meals on our church nights; that would allow us to send our full delegation of three voting members to General Assembly, paying their registration and subsidizing travel and meals expenses too; that would allow us to take steps toward improving our physical plant according to the recommendations of last fall’s Georgia Interfaith Power and Light audit; that would allow us to hire some Gen Zers to produce TikTok and YouTube content for our church. And allow us to minister to our community and one another in ways even I can’t yet imagine.

Enriching our ministries with a power plant level of cash would sustain and bump up the warmth and buzz of energy in fellowship and programming that we’ve been experiencing post-shutdown. Enriching our ministries with a nuclear weapon level of cash would release a burst of creativity, connectivity, deepening, and healing outreach to our community, unlike any the Unitarian Universalist of Savannah has ever experienced before.

Shall we light up the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah? Or shall we unleash instruments of mass creation and generativity upon a hurting world?

To what end shall we enrich our ministries?

Amen.

(lmd)