We have much to be thankful for here at Manassas
Presbyterian Church. We are a vibrant, active, faithful, and healthy
congregation, with a proud 148-year history. We’ve been celebrating that
history these past few months as the foundation for the future we are preparing
for through our Capital Campaign.
This month we will all be asked to make a commitment to the Campaign, which means we will all be asked to make a commitment to the future of our church. Our campaign is nothing less than that. The excitement should be universal and unanimous, and our commitments to our future should also be universal and unanimous.
This month we will all be asked to make a commitment to the Campaign, which means we will all be asked to make a commitment to the future of our church. Our campaign is nothing less than that. The excitement should be universal and unanimous, and our commitments to our future should also be universal and unanimous.
As I shared in my sermon on October 25th, I’ve already returned my pledge card. I’d spent a great deal of time in prayer the past few months listening for how God was calling me to respond to the campaign. I have the same financial concerns we all have: a mortgage, utility bills, car expenses, expenses for food and clothing, and at my age, concern that I am setting enough aside for my retirement.
Still, God was clear in what God wanted me to do: make a leadership commitment to our campaign. I did not hesitate in my response to God’s call - I filled out my pledge card joyfully. I made my commitment with profound gratitude for the many blessings God has graced me with in my life, including being part of this community.
In my sermon, I spoke of the whirlwind around me the past month or so, God’s still small voice in that whirlwind speaking to me of “sacrificial giving” and “cheerful giving”. The whirlwind of God’s words also reminded of the text from the Gospel of Luke in which our Lord Jesus tells us: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase from The Message captures our Lord’s words so concisely: “Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” We have been blessed with many gifts in this family of faith we call Manassas Presbyterian Church, and that means we have great responsibilities to be faithful stewards of our gifts for ourselves and for those who will in time stand on our shoulders.
This Campaign is about our future. It is a bright future, an exciting future - as long as you and I make it so. I pray that when you fill out your pledge card, you too will do so joyfully and with gratitude, saying, “To God be the glory!”
With joy and thanksgiving,
Pastor
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