Feeling Cratchity

To close out the stewardship fund raising campaign at my church, I delivered the following message to the congregation. The response was well received.

Just last evening, I was visited by a former friend, Jacob Marley. Poor old Marley scared the Dickens out of me. I was visited three times.

The first visitor was the Spirit of Pledges Past. The tale told by this visitor was one that caused me to grumble and groan. For it was true -- I had not shared my talents, and my gift giving was late, because I had forgotten.

The second visitor was the Spirit of Pledges Present. The stewardship fund raising campaign was coming to a close and pledges were falling behind and would not meet the budget goals for 2012. Without receiving additional pledges, the Session will have to lower expectations and will be forced to restructure some of the planned programs. The spirit affirmed that $29,000 more in pledges was needed to meet budget goals.

The third visitor was the Spirit of Pledges Future. Here, I was reminded to pledge for the coming year. Time flies. How could it already be 2012? I knew I wanted to make a difference. I had to change my ways. A nightmare of darkened halls and planned programs, reduced or removed entirely, woke me with a start. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and shivered at these "shadows of what may be."

When I realized all was but a dream, I made my way here to share this tale. For now, my heart is filled with love and joy. I will keep my promise to myself and my pledge to the church. Stewardship with kindness, generosity, and compassion will surely lead us to Vision, Renewal, Ministry, and Service.

"God Bless Us, Every One!"



(Stewardship Finale, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas, December 18, 2011)

Physics, Explained

I try to make it a habit to get to the level of my listeners. When I have conversation, I like to look my discussion partner right in the eye. I learn so much that way.

Just last week, a friend's four year old son was playing with a model of the Millennium Falcon. I sat down with the boy to understand more about his spacecraft. Kadin was explaining the components of the craft, pointing out where the drivers sat and where the door was. I pressed for more information. When I asked about the missing landing gear, Kadin responded, "The landing gear are retracted, so they don't get damaged by travel in space." I was impressed with the answer.

When I asked about the antenna dish, Kadin surprised me with, "That is used to gather signals from other objects, so that navigation in space can be completed more efficiently."

I decided to probe deeper, obviously this child is skilled in conversation. I asked, "So, what do you think about the potential confluence of the Star Wars and Star Trek universes?"

Kadin's expression changed from sincerity to puzzlement to bewilderment. I thought my adult vocabulary had him flummoxed. Rather, Kadin simply said, "That's just not real!"