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Sermon Preached at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Granite Springs by the the Reverend Matthew Mead
November 8, 2009
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
RCL): 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44


I’m fairly new here. One of the things I loved most about Good Shepherd was the physical plant. I am on a number of committees in the Diocese and I get to visit lots of other churches. With one exception, every single church that I have been to in Westchester County is limited by its physical plant.

Sometimes a church sanctuary is stunning, but there is no parking so it’s hard for everyone, especially newcomers, to get to church. At Christmas and Easter many people who might come give up because they can’t find a place to park.

Sometimes a church has parking, but the physical structure is so old and so small that only 100 people can fit inside. It’s always cozy and full which is great, but there quite literally is no room to grow.

Sometimes a church has a big sanctuary and lots of parking, but no parish hall. Everyone comes and goes easily to church but there are limited opportunities for fellowship and on-site outreach because there is no space for gathering outside of worship.

A few churches actually have parking, a good sized church, and a useful parish hall, but for a variety of reasons that made sense to someone at some point, the rector lives off site. Miles down the road in his or her own home or in a rectory that is removed from the action of the church. Sometimes that allows for a disconnect between the life of the parish and the priest.

I have been to many of the churches in the county and I have come to conclusion that Good Shepherd has, perhaps, the best physical plant of them all. We have tons of parking – and it doesn’t interfere with the picturesque front drive of the church. We have a good sized sanctuary – we can stuff 200 in here, which means there is room to grow. We have a fantastic Parish Hall and kitchen, complete with a brand new stove.

Think about this: its no coincidence that Good Shepherd is a polling location in elections – there’s plenty of room to park; the church is centrally located between several main roads, and there’s plenty of room once you get in to vote without affecting anything in the church sanctuary.

Its no coincidence that Good Shepherd hosts two enormous AA groups each week. We have a big parking lot, a big hall and a big guild room.

Its no coincidence that we have a large Sunday School. Families can come and go comfortably because of the layout of the building. The Sunday School kids can be as loud as they want and not interfere with the liturgy of the word. When the kids come into the church there is room for them to move around and make a little noise without making it a challenge to take part in the Eucharist. After church when the weather is nice we ever have a wonderful playground on the property.

Its no coincidence that we are able to have daily morning prayer at Good Shepherd. I live here. I can be here every day and that has allowed other people to come once or twice a week. If I lived 10 miles away things would be different.

I don’t know what you see when you look at Good Shepherd, but one thing that I hope you see is how blessed we are in the place.

At the end of last month the vestry and I sent out a stewardship letter and pledge cards – if you didn’t get one, there are plenty at the back of the church. We hope that all of those pledge cards will be returned next week on Covenant Sunday. There are many reasons to pledge, but I think all of them can be summed up in our commitment to live into this wonderful building. It is a great blessing to have such a wonderful, beautiful and practical church. Making a pledge to financially support this parish will help ensure that it continues to grow as a place of welcome, worship, outreach, fellowship, and evangelism for all people.

Our stewardship goal for 2010 is $125,000. It’s a higher number than past years, but that’s because its an honest number. When we reach that goal we will know that we will be able continue to keep the church open for worship, outreach and fellowship. Making that pledge goal will also allow the church to stop deferring on needed maintenance. Every time I walk through the church I notice that tiles that are missing. I know I’m not alone in going slow when I enter the church driveway because I don’t want the damaged asphalt to eat my car. Making that pledge goal would allow us to do more obvious outreach and mission projects.

I understand that the economy is bad and that everyone is on a tight budget. Figuring out what to pledge is difficult. Everyone’s financial situation is different.

In 2008 my wife and I pledged $7500 to Saint Mary’s. We gave 10% to the church. Then the economy collapsed. Nicole was laid off from her job in November. In 2009 the percentage remained at 10%, but the amount was lowered to $4500. It was tempting to cut the pledge even more so that the other things in our life could remain at the same level. We love to eat at nice restaurants and cook fancy dinners at home. Nicole loves Betsy Johnson clothes, and I love buying new CDs. But our situation had changed and we were forced to pray over and think about what really mattered. Our commitment to Saint Mary’s won the day. We didn’t want to simply keep it the place it always had been. We wanted the church to continue growing in the same way it had been for the last 4 years. So we began the year by pledging to support the mission of the church. And you know what? Those other things came along afterwards. We still managed to eat nice meals; we still managed to find ways to buy new clothes and new music. We were able to do to all because we started with our pledge and budgeted everything after that.

On the eve of 2010 things remain the same: We have two children and my paycheck supporting us. In 2010 we will pledge 10% of my salary and a guestimate of what Nicole will make freelancing to Good Shepherd so that the church can continue to grow in new ways and live into the blessing that is its physical plant.

In the Gospel today Jesus reminds his disciples that the amount isn’t what is important. The widow gave an amount that many of us might regard as a bad tip: a few coins. But she wasn’t tipping, she was supporting the Temple in a way that was more impressive that when a billionaire gives 1 million dollars away to charity. The same is true for you and me.

Next Sunday pledge cards are returned and we will have a guild fair. There are plenty of ways to donate time, talents and treasure to Good Shepherd. Today we give thanks for all who came before us and who are still among us. Those people who have blessed us with this wonderful church. Through their support this place was built and added on to and maintained so that it could be a powerful and practical witness to Jesus Christ. This place was built on priorities, not tips, and I invite you to consider how much of a priority Good Shepherd is for you in 2010.

Note for all sermons: The text published here and what was actually preached from the pulpit may vary considerably. Think of this version as the published draft.