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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle B
October 7, 2012 All 8
Masses
Saint Margaret
Parish, Bel Air
Michael
There’s
a little story about a young man named – oddly enough – Michael.
Michael
woke up one Sunday, tired and grouchy.
He blurted out to his mother, “I’m
not going to church this morning.”
His
mother asked why not. Michael snapped
back, “I just don’t want to go.”
His
mother continued, “Well, there has to be
some reason.” Again, Michael
responded, “I just don’t feel like it
today.”
His
mother came back again. “Look Michael, that’s ridiculous.
“Besides, you have no choice. You’re the pastor, so get moving.”
Why I Am Here Today
Well,
unlike the Michael in the story, today I am happy to be here with you.
And yes,
I am giving my annual talk on the offertory collection. But what makes this enjoyable for me is that fundamentally
it is really about Saint Margaret’s and the faith community we have developed
together.
Programs, Services, Opportunities
For
example, today one of the things I think about is our marriage preparation
program. Jesus in today’s gospel says that
the bond between husband and wife is to be as enduring as God’s love is for
us.
Here at
Saint Margaret’s we try to promote this by making marriage preparation a
priority. We have 18 sponsor couples who
prepare other couples for marriage in a personal, one-on-one setting.
Then we
priests and deacons plan the wedding ceremony with the couples and make this an
experience of faith. It is a helpful and
enriching program.
Today I
also think of the FiRE House that we opened this past year. The parish for many years has owned a ranch
home next to the Saint Margaret property.
With a
few changes and a lot of splashy, bright paint, we converted that into a center
for our high school youth. Some of our young
adults named this the FiRE House and that stands for Finding the Road to
Emmaus.
Today I
am also thinking of our outreach to those in need. We host 5 Twelve-Step substance abuse
programs here, including one for families – called Families Anonymous.
Today I
also recall a middle-age man who thanked me for our ministry to the
hospital. When he was in Upper
Chesapeake, each day one of our Eucharistic Ministers visited and brought him
Communion and he found that so very helpful as he went through his treatments.
I could
say a lot more about our parish, like the 31 adult faith groups, the 900
children and youth in faith formation, and the 700 children in our school. We can be very proud of so many things.
Offertory Giving
Now, of
course, we do need financial support for all of this.
You
have been quite generous and I am very grateful to all of you. Without your generosity, all of this would
not be possible.
This
weekend, I am asking us to renew our financial commitment. Our budget for this year that we began on
July 1 is balanced at $3 million.
It is
well-thought out and tight, almost the same bottom line as last year’s. So here is what I am thinking and what I want
to ask.
My Request
We are
all aware of the troubled economy in our country.
So I
assume that some of us because of personal circumstances will not be able to
contribute as much as we have been giving.
And I assume that some of us will be able to maintain our present level
of giving but not increase it.
Given
that, I am asking those of us who can to increase our giving to the offertory
by 3% or even more if that is appropriate for us. This will enable us to continue all of our
programs and services and ministries.
I also
ask all of us, regardless of our level of giving, to complete a commitment
card. This card is a good-faith
expression of what we intend to give and it also enables us to make sure that
our budget is realistic.
I
mailed the card with my letter to you this past week and maybe you have already
completed it. If not, I would ask that
you complete a card right now and drop it in the collection basket – there are
cards and pencils available.
Conclusion
I thank you for
your consideration of my request.
As I leave, I am
reminded of another anecdote. One day, a
little girl and her mother stopped into church.
The mother said
that she wanted to pray for just a few minutes.
So the mother knelt and prayed and the little girl was trying her best
to be patient.
Finally, she
tapped her mother on the shoulder and said, “When
will that red light up there turn green so we can go?” Well, it hasn’t turned green, but it is time
for me to go.
