Dear Epiphany,
As we reflect on our spiritual journey here at Epiphany during this season of the Annual Appeal, we encourage you to consider the connection between your spiritual lives and your material wealth. The Gospel teaches us that our relationship with wealth can significantly complicate our ability to fully situate ourselves within God’s kingdom. Scripture reminds us, over and over again, that it is a heart thing, with Jesus challenging us to examine the priorities of our hearts in relationship to our stuff.
The story of the rich man in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10 (which Kate preached on last Sunday), reminds us that following Jesus calls us to wonderfully reorient our lives, placing God as the filter through which we see and do and encounter the world. Jesus looks at us with love, just as he did the rich man, and invites us to this more real, authentic, and liberated experience of life. An experience built on a God-first orientation.
Wealth can fog the filter, but it doesn’t remove it. One way to wipe away the fog is to push our possessions to the side by giving them as a resource in service of God’s kingdom. The struggle with an abundance of wealth is that we have more fog to wipe away as a constant imperative if we are going to stay on the road of God’s mission. The easiest solution, as Judaism discovered, and Christianity adopted, is the tithe. The tithe is an off-the-top gift of 10% of one’s income to the church, made not toward transaction, but in gratitude for the other 90% of wealth God has allowed to materialize in our life.
The promised annual tithe is called a pledge, which follows a theology not of transaction or obligation, but as an action of thanksgiving and hope. It’s a recognition that all we have comes from God, and that by giving, we invest in God’s ongoing work in the world. The pledge affirms our trust in God’s provision and our commitment to God’s unfolding mission.
It is by your pledge that Epiphany stands as a beacon of hope in our community, a place where souls are revealed and hearts transformed through worship, fellowship, and service. Your generosity ensures that this sacred work continues right now, so it will continue for generations to come. What we do now is determinative of what the church of the future will be and be like. The church, after all, is designed for eternity.
As you consider your pledge this year, remember that every gift, regardless of size, matters. Give proportionately to what you have received, knowing that your contribution is an integral part of our collective ministry. Let your giving be an expression of joy, gratitude, and hope for the future God is calling us to create together.
May our giving be a reflection of our faith, a testament to God’s generosity, and a source of hope for our world.
In Christ’s love,
Kate Wesch and Doyt Conn