|
Clear Values in Difficult Times
It's hard to imagine a clearer example of how we must be grounded in our values in these challenging times. Members of this congregation were raised by the foster care system, and though it is imperfect, there is no other safety net to hold those children. I would hand deliver my $40 fee to keep the holes in the net from getting any larger then they already are.
These are difficult times. Many of us in this congregation have lost our jobs, or wait under the dangling sword of lay offs or pay cuts. We are learning that things we took for granted during the boom time are no longer so important while times are tough. For example, last year I wanted to raise my pledge to be a "Supporting" member of the congregation. Since the increased expenses of having a newborn were far outpacing our income, I felt at first as if I couldn't afford to make that increase. "I'm already squeezed tight" I thought.
I must have turned on the radio or television, because then I began to remember how rich I really am.
· The median income per household in the US in 2001 was $42,200
I have fresh food to eat anytime I want it
When I sit in my safe dry car, driving my own child home to a warm dinner, I am devastated by reports of the mothers in North Korea who cannot feed their children, day after day. Here is how I have begun to face the dissonance between that mother's life and my own. Perhaps my experience will help you find your own path through this dissonance.
First I immediately realized how much I really have, that I am one of the richest people on the planet. I had been so busy wondering why my car was older and more beat up than the Joneses, that I forgot to realize what a privilege it is to have a car at all.
Without embarking on a deconstruction of global capitalism, which is a topic I hope this congregation will take up some day, It is only through an accident of birth that I live in the wealthiest nation. As my awareness widens, and I more honestly understand what gifts I have in this life, I could chose to be contorted with guilt. But guilt is not a productive emotion. Whenever I have chosen the path of guilt, I find it increasingly difficult to be honest with myself. I chose instead to be filled with a gratitude for this unearned grace, and at the same time resolved to commit myself to continued awareness and action.
When I hold in my heart and mind mothers who must feed their children on less than $1 a day, I suddenly how many of my expenses could be cut before I would have to go hungry. I know some of you who have lost your jobs lately, seen your pensions reduced by a failing stock market, or received pay cuts have had to make some hard choices recently. I am sure that if you have had to cancel your cell phone, turn off the cable, say no to concerts, mend a coat instead of buying a new one, it is that much more difficult to feel grateful for the simple gift of food. Holding those North Korean mothers in my heart, and all of those in Silicone Valley who have been laid off, I had to do something as an act of solidarity. I decided that my morning coffee at Sophia's was something I could live without. Making coffee at home is now a part of our morning that my son enjoys very much. "Coffee!" he yells when he smells the grounds. And I have an extra dollar a day to give away. It's such a small luxury to give up, but it symbolized to me a wider awareness, and helps me make real my values. It is a small step on a long journey in which I hope that my growing awareness will call me again and again to find ways to act with integrity with myself and the world.
This has been a tough couple of years for our church. We lost our parish minister, our music director, laid aside our dream of new buildings on this site, and struggle to try to keep commitments we made in better times. But we have this building, designed by a renowned architect. A place to worship, for our children to play. We have staff that supports the work of this church. And we have each other.
The generosity I have seen over the past 2 years has been remarkable. When we made a call to support members and friends in job transition, a volunteer stepped forward to lead a job group. Members e-mail almost every day opportunities in their companies. People facing hard times themselves donated $2000 to an emergency fund.
It takes around 50 volunteers to run our programs for children and youth in this congregation. Our caring network comes to the aid of those who are sick or in transition with a quiet generosity that most of us will never see until we ourselves are sick.
We have raised a combined total of over $20,000 for our social justice causes this year- organizations that feed the homeless, protect troubled teens, and fight for marriage rights. When we faced a deficit last year, supporters raised an additional $27,000 to end the year in the black. Some of our members made huge jumps in their pledges for this year. Other members in difficult financial circumstances struggled to maintain their same giving level. We raised $330,000 for our operating fund last year, and almost a million dollars for our building campaign. Then to have this $10,000 matching gift, one more act of encouraging and challenging generosity.
We have a lot to be grateful for in this community. Let's take a moment to be thankful for all the individual acts of generosity, as well as the un-earned grace that finds us living in such abundance.
[pause]
If we believe in our "commitment to a free and loving search for spiritual meaning and to the expression of that meaning in our community and in our lives," our relationship to money must be in harmony with that meaning and with that expression. May this church be a place where we are empowered to use those resources in a way that embodies our values. In difficult times we don't have the luxury of despair or guilt. In these difficult times, let us show with our actions how grateful we are for all we have been given.
What is your reaction to this sermon? Please send comments to Reverend Darcey Laine
Reverend Darcey Laine
February 23, 2003
Palo Alto, CA
With my eyes on Iraq, I had not really thought how the huge budget deficit here in the state of California is going to impact people already at risk in our region and in our neighborhoods. Amy Choate, a member of this congregation who works with at risk youth, tells me that $110 million dollars will be cut from the state social services that effect the youth she works with. A $55 million hole will be left if the Vehicle Licensing Fee is not renewed. Let's make that real. If you and I stop paying $40 per car to the DMV, Amy says this will effectively end foster care in the state of California.
· 11.7 percent of the US lives below the poverty level, which is around $10,000.
· According to the World bank, a quarter of the world lives on less than $1.08 per day.
I have a roof over my head
I have access to good health care
I drive a car
I have books to read
I have my own computer and phone
It starts to seem like an embarrassment or riches.
|