Abundance
On the summer solstice — the day with the greatest amount of time separating sunrise from sunset —the St. Paul’s Vestry, our governing board, met to discuss and adopt our budget for the next year. We met via Zoom which allowed me to look out the window occasionally as the light slowly faded. We finished before sunset, so I was able to move to my porch to enjoy the beauty of twilight.
I won’t spend time on the particulars of the budget today. We’ll communicate the details in late summer and early fall. Also, I’ll plan to share information during my Rector’s Forum in September.
As you might imagine, making a decision on a budget in an uncertain economy causes some anxiety. Inflation is climbing, gas prices are high, and the volatility of the markets has impacted our endowment. Focusing on these indicators might lead us to hold back and play it safe.
But not all financial indicators are negative. The number of households making an estimated gift for the next year of ministry is up. So is the amount of money those households intend to give. We also received, for the first time, estimates of giving from many of our children and youth. People care about St. Paul’s and support our mission. There is abundance in our community if we choose to see it.
Which is exactly what the members of the Vestry did. They chose to see abundance instead of scarcity, to focus on opportunities for mission instead of on limits. There are always some limits, of course, and the Vestry continues to act as good stewards of our resources. But by leading into the future instead of the past, the Vestry is trusting the abundance of God and the St. Paul’s community.
Which brings me back to the summer solstice. The Fetzer Institute publishes an essay by Parker Palmer every June 21. Palmer, the founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, writes with great wisdom and depth. He’s one of the authors who nurtures my soul and challenges my spirit.
In this year’s essay, “Summer’s Abundant Community,” Palmer wrote: “Here is a summertime truth: abundance is a communal act, the joint creation of an incredibly complex ecology in which each part functions on behalf of the whole and, in return, is sustained by the whole. Community not only creates abundance — community IS abundance. If we could learn that equation from the world of nature, the human world might be transformed.”
In an accompanying Facebook post, he added, “The abundance we seek comes from opening our eyes and hearts to see that WITHIN us and BETWEEN us we possess countless gifts and resources. All we need is the wit and the will to name them, claim them, and pass them around in ways large and small. That’s called ‘community.’ Without it, we perish. With it, we thrive.”
The past two years have been challenging and exhausting. Over the summer, we all need to take a break. But then — if we trust in each other and in God’s abundance — it will be time for us to thrive.