APRIL 20, 2011
Montclair Presbyterian Church
Dear Friends,
Several weeks ago I preached a sermon on the “graying of Montclair.” I mentioned that I had heard the term many times since my arrival and that the term had been used in a concerned way. Some of the conversation goes like this: “We really need to focus on bringing young people in because of how many of us are graying and getting older.” Part of what I was trying to suggest in my sermon is that the “graying of Montclair” is one of our strong gifts. Think of all of the people you know in our church family who have gray hair. If you are like me, when you think of them they inspire awe and deep respect. Many of our “gray hairs” are revolutionaries. Any young person (age 14 to age 50) would be privileged to sit with our older members, to hear their stories of revolution, to hear their stories of heartbreak and hope, and to hear how they have lived into being the church over the years. My desire to bring young people in to this church stems from wanting them to benefit from the gifts that our “gray hairs” have to offer.
Recently I heard from a couple of people that the term “the graying of Montclair” actually came from a look at our church budget and how our giving breaks out in terms of age groups. Some of our oldest members give the most in their pledging despite the fact that many of them are on limited incomes. The concern expressed is that as some of our biggest givers get old and die, our younger givers are not necessarily increasing their giving. What will our financial future and therefore our overall future be if we continue to have to decrease our budget?
Generationally, it makes complete sense that our giving looks the way it does between the various age categories. Many of our older members grew up in churches that stressed the tithe as being what was required of church members. A tithe was supposed to be 10% of one’s gross income. In the Old Testament, the people were required to give of the “first fruits” or the best of what they had (land, livestock, etc…) to the priests/temple. Though I am younger, the church in which I grew up was very conservative so I heard about the “requirement” of the 10% tithe as though it was related to salvation. The idea went something like this, “If you are a faithful Christian, you give 10% and if you give you less than 10%, you are not faithful.” For the first ten years of my ministry I gave 10% of my income before taxes to the churches who were underpaying me to be their pastor. There was no joy in my giving and, in fact, even a little resentment on my part perhaps, but I sure felt obligated. You will not ever hear me extol the virtues of tithing as I experienced the worst parts of it. What I struggle with to this day is how to approach giving and pledging with generosity and purpose.
Many people in my generation and younger have a whole different experience with giving than the older generations. Up until recently, there was a bit of disposable income to go around. The trend for younger generations is to give smaller amounts to more organizations. One person might have $5,000 they allot for giving. She/he divides it up between Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International, the League of Women Voters, Animal Rescue, the Sierra Club, the local school PTA, KALW, the Oakland Museum, MoveOn.Org, and Montclair Presbyterian Church. The church might get more or less than the other organizations depending upon the duration of time with each organization. This is a phenomenon that I understand as a young person. The problem with it is that there are fewer and fewer people (in the Bay Area) who are supporting faith communities. One of my pastor friends told her congregation in Marin County a few years ago that only 6% of people in Marin County were involved in a faith community of any kind. The percentage is not much higher in our area. The organizations above are supported by a much broader percentage of the population but faith communities like ours are not only supported by fewer people but have to share the support with all of the other organizations that are supported by the broader population. This is bad news for faith communities.
Montclair will be at a crossroads within the next five years financially. I would venture to say that our “graying members” have given generously of their financial resources because they believe this community of faith is making a difference in our world and they want to be sure it is here 20 or 30 years from now. What about you? If you are someone who is giving to many different organizations, are you willing to commit more of yourself to the Montclair church family by altering your giving habits?
Please understand I am not at all trying to “guilt” anyone into anything. My purpose in writing this is much more practical. As the “graying” of our church family continues, we will need to be very intentional about changing our giving. In other words, we will each need to prioritize. If you were to prioritize your giving, is our Montclair church family somewhere near the top? If not, why not? Is it clear how we are impacting our world? Is our purpose clear? Are we necessary as a congregation? Those are questions we will consider honestly when we begin our Mission Study and they are questions that certainly impact our giving.
The “graying of Montclair” continues to be a gift to us in the sense that it gives us pause and encourages us to think deeply and intentionally about who we are and about our future, financially and otherwise.
Thanks for listening. You continue to give me great joy!
Beth
P.S. The dramatic reading that Tom Debley and Marge Nicholson performed last Sunday was from “Seasons of Hope: Readings for the Liturgical Year” by David E. Butler. I apologize for not giving credit to the author in last week’s bulletin!
TALITHA’S VIBE:
- ONE GREAT HOUR: Don’t forget about One Great Hour of Sharing! This important offering supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Program, and the Self-Development of Peoples program. Your support is crucial to keeping these key missions going. Please bring your offerings (whether in “grown up” envelopes, available in your bulletin, or kid-sized fish boxes) to church on Sunday or mail them in. There will be a basket for fish boxes at the back of the church on Easter. Thanks so much!
SUSAN’S JIVE:
- CHILDREN: This Easter Sunday, please bring your children to the Thornhill Room at 9:15 sharp to rehearse their song.
- YOUTH GROUP: We will not meet on Easter Sunday.
- YOUTH GROUP RETREAT: Egg-shaped snowball fights, freezing dips in Lake Tahoe, great discussions, new friendships, an impromptu talent show – this was the Spring Youth Retreat which took place this past weekend. With a theme of “Relationship Status – It’s Complicated”, a wide variety of topics were covered and many youth said they had learned something new. The open and deep sharing in small groups was a highlight of our time together.
MAUNDY THURSDAY: On Thursday, April 21, we will gather as a community to remember the passion story of Jesus. Join us for supper and fellowship in the Family Room at 6:30. We will walk from the Family Room through the Thornhill Room to re-enact Jesus’ selfless act of service to the disciples. From there we will walk to the sanctuary for a special Tenebrae Service at 7:30 that includes scripture and hymns. The service will end in darkness. The whole family is welcome.
EASTER FLOWERS: If you did not order an azalea for Easter Sunday, you are welcome to bring flowers or plants to the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, April 23, so that we can arrange them with the azaleas.
PLEDGE FORMS DUE THIS SUNDAY: A big thank you to those of you who have already responded to the annual pledge drive. And a gentle reminder to those who haven’t – please bring your pledge form with you to church this Sunday – Easter! All of MPC’s worthwhile activities depend on your contributions. Just like the State of California, MPC has to balance the budget by either taking in revenue or cutting costs. So, please give generously. It’s up to you. If you didn’t receive a pledge form, please call the church office. Thank you! Stewardship Co-Chairs Jeanne Dunn, Barbara Vaughn, Sloan White.
MPC FAMILY CAMP: There will be no Family Camp registration table Easter morning. Look for us on Sunday, May 1st, or check out the MPC website for more information. Co-Deans: Debbie Fallehy & Carrie McKiernan – Registrar: Cindy Gullikson.
SPLASH TEAM: The MPC Community Forum on Climate Change will be hosted by the SPLASH TEAM on Sunday, May 1st. Come hear newly elected Oakland Mayor Jean Quan respond to a presentation of the Oakland Climate Action Plan. We will be serving a delicious lunch in the Family Room at 11:30 AM. The 1-hour program will start at 12:15 PM in the sanctuary with Q & A afterwards. Come and get to know Mayor Quan and learn about all the exciting things happening in Oakland. Child care provided upon request!
ART GANG EVENT: The Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma has twenty walk-through gardens, designed by the world’s finest landscape architects and designers. We will go tour these gardens on Saturday, May 7th at 9 am. The admission is free. There will be lunch onsite or bring your own. We will meet in the church parking lot to carpool and return late in the afternoon. We need a minimum of 8 people. Please RSVP to cwolleson@hotmail.com or 658-6655. The deadline is on Wednesday, May 4, to reserve a spot.
GIVING TO THE WORLD: The Giving to the World List is MPC’s alternative Christmas gift list. We are taking a look at the programs on it, in order to have the best possible list ready to go for next Christmas. Do you have ideas for the list? A program you’d like to suggest or possibly just areas you think that we are missing? Do you have ideas that would make the program more appealing to you and others at MPC? Send any and all ideas to Helen Hutchison (helen@helenhutch.com, 510-654-2216).
BOOK DEPOT NEWS: The book depot will NOT be open on Easter Sunday, but we plan to return the following week.
VIRGINIA ABASCAL’S NEW HOME: As you may know Virginia’s house suffered an explosion and fire three weeks ago. Her home is now uninhabitable and must be completely rebuilt. On Saturday, Virginia moved into a rental home. She would love to hear from you and to have you see her new place. Her new phone is 510-708-7113 and her new address is 3117 Lewiston Avenue in Berkeley.
UPDATE ON DONNA ROBLES: Donna called on Wednesday morning and asked me to put this in Contact for her. She said that she has turned a corner, doctors do not know why. She will be going back to her apartment. She wants to thank everyone for their prayers!
DEADLINES: To submit announcements for the bulletin and Contact, please send them to office@mpcfamily.org. The deadline for Contact is Tuesdays at 3 pm and the deadline for the bulletin is Wednesdays at 12 pm. This is a change for all of us, so let’s try to remind each other!
MPC Calendar:
http://www.mpcfamily.org/getting-involved/calendar/
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MONTCLAIR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, California 94611, (510)339-1131
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am-4:30pm
Rev. Beth Buckingham-Brown, Office hours Monday-Wednesday, 10:00-3:00 pm
Susan Hunn, Associate for Children & Youth: Office hours, Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30-2:30 pm
Sherrill Figuera: Administrative Assistant, Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30-4:30 pm
Talitha Phillips: Coordinator for Children and Youth
Kim Rankin: Associate in Music
Marcia Roy: Organist
Gil & Maria Chiguila: Caretakers
Rev. John Hadsell: Theologian in Residence
Rev. Kathy Ray: Parish Associate
Ajit Abraham: International Partner in Residence