“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” ~ Matthew 10:5-8

“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America…..”  How do those words make you feel? Do you stand behind them? Or do they make your hair standing on end? I can imagine there are a few who are a little wary about what words you are about to read. That makes me sad. Because where we are in this society right now, even those words are enough to set some people off.

For some, it is the words “one nation under God…” which upset them most – that whole separation of church and state, you know. For others, it is the beginning: “I pledge allegiance to the flag…”. We are given the Commandment “You shall have no other Gods before me,” so some feel that when we “pledge our allegiance to the flag” we are placing the flag, and the country, before God. But I don’t believe that is what it was meant to say.

Simply put, a pledge is a promise. In terms of the flag, we are promising to stay true to our country, and its ideals, to the best of our ability.

Within the church, we have “stewardship pledges.” Much like hearing those words in the Pledge of Allegiance, many people’s hair stands on end when this conversation comes up. But a “stewardship pledge” is simply a promise you make that you will give a certain amount of money to the church each year – this is the “offering” we take every Sunday. This pledge helps the church fulfill its mission of serving in the world by paying bills, mending the church/parsonage/property, paying salaries, and the many missions we give to within our community, the wider Church, and the world. (As of July 31, our general fund is short ($9,439.86). If you have pledged, and have been gone for the summer, I encourage you to catch up. Contact Martha if you have a question about your pledge.)

God gives to us in abundance, and we are called to share that with those who need it. While many churches teach the practice of tithing (giving 10% of your gross income) there is no “right” way to give. We are, however, called to give of our first fruits, meaning offering to the church first, instead of last.

When you make a pledge, please understand that it is a promise – to do your best, with the help of God. But life happens. Sometimes things come up which makes it impossible to fulfill that promise. These pledges are made in good faith, they are not contracts, and therefore we will not come after you if you don’t fulfill them.

While as pastor I am not privy to the amount you pledge, I am told if someone isn’t giving, so that I can follow up to make sure things are okay, because most of the time, when an active giver stops giving, they are either upset with something in the church, or have an issue in life, either of which the pastor may be able to help with.

As we worship together, during the month of August, we talked about the awesome generosity of God, and move into the Season of Creation in September, and our Season of Stewardship in October and November. You will hear more about pledging, and hear testimonies from people in the church. I challenge you to think about how you pledge your allegiance to this country, and how you will choose to pledge to the church in November. 

Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

Go to https://www.caringbridge.org, login and search for Heidi’s Caring Bridge to read her updates.