A Special Message from Fr. Caleb
Dearly transfigured people of God, Generosity is a journey, it’s a practice that we learn and nurture within our hearts. It just isn’t in our nature to give away what we have worked hard to acquire or to donate our precious time without compensation. It takes something as radical as love to inspire us to…
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| Dearly transfigured people of God, Generosity is a journey, it’s a practice that we learn and nurture within our hearts. It just isn’t in our nature to give away what we have worked hard to acquire or to donate our precious time without compensation. It takes something as radical as love to inspire us to share our time, talent, and treasure with others. This is a journey we make together. Paul tells us that our profession of faith in Christ, accompanied by generous giving to the Church and one another, is at the root of our evangelism and bringing the good news to others about Jesus. “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” (2 Corinthians 9:13). In other words, Christians are known by both our faith and our actions, our generous spirit with our neighbors. The aspiration is not four ourselves to be praised for our faith or our giving. It is for God to be praised by others when they see how we put our faith into practice. As I said earlier, it’s not very intuitive for human beings to give so generously. The fallen side of our human nature encourages greed, selfishness, and hoarding. That is the side that results from the corrosiveness of death and the fear of loss. However, there is another side, the originally good side of our human nature. When God created humanity, God said that we, like all creation, were good. This original blessing is still in each of us as well. This is the side that is strengthened and refined by the Holy Spirit’s grace through the sacraments. We give and share because we love. Our giving empowers this congregation and the whole Church to be a haven of inclusiveness, love, welcome, and help for those in need, spiritually and physically. The most miraculous gift of love is that it was there within us all along, from the moment of our creation, all we had to do was find it, tap into it, and begin growing it. And look what happened? That original blessing flourishes through the Holy Spirit. We learned to share, to give, to volunteer, to accompany others, to feed, to pray, to visit, to strive for change. At the Church of the Transfiguration, we have endeavored to wisely and lovingly use the gifts that you have shared with the body of Christ. We have provided a Halloween festival to our community, Christmas gifts to students and families, housing assistance, food, and school supplies for those who need them. We have supported parishioners going to summer camp and taking Church formation classes. Next year, I am hoping we will include additional initiatives to support the homeless in our community. This year as our Stewardship Campaign kicks off, we will be intentionally raising stories with each other in our congregation. I invite you to share your stories of inspiration and connection with our shared ministry in this place and with each other – to Tell Out Your Soul! Blessings, Fr. Caleb Rector, Church of the Transfiguration  Icon of the Generous Widow |