Blooming Where We Are Planted

Rev. Jeffrey Symynkywicz, February 22, 2009

            Seasons change. Churches change. Our reasons for coming to this church change. The reasons we have for coming to, or sticking with, this church are different for each one of us. But together, this is where we have been planted—or have chosen to plant ourselves—right here, at the intersection of route 138, 139, and 27; right here in beautiful Stoughton Center.

            Together, we create a garden of the spirit—not as large as some, perhaps, not as wealthy. But together, we create a garden of the spirit just as unique and remarkable as any garden anywhere in the whole wide world.

Seasons change. Churches change. And if you hang around a church long enough, as some of us have, then see a lot of changes. Different people in the pews. Different topics of concern. Different things we talk about, different kinds of activities. We’ve all grown a little older, though some of us don’t show it as much. I know I’ve been here a while—a whole decade and a half now-- when I look at our kids (well, your kids now, because mine are pretty much all long gone). Those little seedlings have this way of growing and growing till they’re the tallest plants in the garden.

But what doesn’t change—and what isn’t different from year to year and even from generation to generation-- is our need to support our church as generously as we do any of the other important aspects of our lives. What doesn’t change is our need to commit ourselves to our church to the fullness of our ability and our means.

But however great our commitment and our care for this church garden of ours is,  there’s another threat that gardens, either of the botanical or the spiritual kind, face sometimes. And that is something called blight: a general infestation of some kind of disease that causes plants and flowers to wither and die. You can be the best gardeners in the world, but when the blight hits, you’re in trouble.

We live in blighted times, my friends. It is not hyperbole to state that the current world economic crisis threatens the very existence of our church. Certainly, it threatens our church’s carrying forth at its current levels of staffing, outreach, and programming.

We like to think that our churches are safe little cocoons—safe little walled gardens perhaps, protected from the tides and tempests of our time. Part of the charm and allure of a church is to be able to think of it as a haven against the world, as a place of peace and calm in a world that demands so much and changes so fast. May this church continue to be a spiritual refuge for us in the years ahead, when that is what our spirits need.

But this is something that can’t be stated too often: In these difficult economic times, especially, our church needs our support. The current financial crisis may well have an important long-term impact on our church’s ability to maintain present levels of programming, staff, and outreach in the days ahead. Now, more than ever, it is critical for each of us to rally in support of our church, and pledge our financial commitment to it to the full extent that we are able.

We are a free church, a church where the people run things, and so we must be honest and frank with one another: In the current market situation, our endowment is shrinking. If we continue to draw from that endowment at current levels, in order to meet operating expenses, and if the economic downturn continues, then we can count the number of years our endowment has left on the fingers of one hand (maybe), two hands (at most).

The blight has arrived, and it threatens the very existence of our church garden.

So, what do good, caring gardeners do at times of challenge like these?

They roll up their sleeves and do what they can to protect the precious seeds they’ve planted. They dig deeper. They do what they have to do.

And, they apply weed killer—pesticides (good, environmentally safe, biodegradable ones, of course) against the blight:

We apply hope.

We apply courage.

We apply our full commitment of heart and hand to the work of our church.

We apply our creative imaginations and all the talents we have to facing the challenge that is before us.

We apply other kind of medicine, too: increased giving, which will allow us to draw less from our endowment, and protect more of our funds, and guarantee the fiscal future of our church.

Even in these tough times, where all of our families are facing severe financial pressures, we, as good gardeners, need to dig just a little deeper. We must all pledge to the full extent that we are able and willing. We must do what we can to help this church garden of ours continue to blossom.

These are the most important spiritual flowers this church offers—to us, and to our communities:  honesty, compassion, freedom, responsibility, justice, equity, idealism, interdependence—and yes, generosity—a generosity of spirit, which we all seek to reflect in these lives we lead.

And we believe in life,

And in the strength of love.

And we have found this sacred place, this dear church, where we have been planted together, and where we can bloom together, and where we can truly become, all of us, everything that we are called to be, together.

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