SPECIAL STEWARDSHIP THOUGHTS FROM DeeDee and Bob, 10/23/05 and 10/30/05

We are in the midst of our annual stewardship drive. Many of you have received letters and pledge cards in the mail. Additional pledge cards are in the pews and November 6, our dedication Sunday is quickly approaching. Usually these stewardship moments are devoted to urging you to give or make a pledge.

Instead, I am inviting you to think about what you have received from our Carmel Valley Community Chapel.

We all realize that we have to pay our bills, pay our minister and staff, support our musical program and maintain our Chapel buildings and grounds. This is a given. What I am asking all of us to do is to take a moment to think about being grateful for what we have received.

I sat down last week and thought about what I have been given. The word GRATITUDE came to my mind. Gratitude for what I have received.

I am grateful that this church has helped to strengthen our marriage. Bob and I were married here at the Chapel on February 14, 2003. As we worship, serve, study together here we have learned more about each others values. Our marriage is richer, stronger and more solid because of all of you, because of this church community.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve: Ty Conklin told me that they needed someone to help at the our church’s Thrift Shop desk. I became that someone. (How can you say no to Ty?) The first day a little boy about seven came up to the desk. He opened his hand and held out a crumpled dollar bill and a silver quarter. He said he wanted to buy his mom a birthday present. He pointed to a small thin necklace in our glass case and asked if he could see it. When I took it out of the case his eyes lit up. It was the perfect present. He handed me the $1.25 and ran out the door with a big smile on his face. He didn’t even have to pay tax! I was hooked. The needy, not so needy and the affluent find treasures at a reasonable price. This service to our community also helps to support our Chapel and its mission.

I am grateful for our music program. Tom Lawson’s commentary on his selections delivers a spiritual message in itself. I call them, “Tom’s musical sermonettes. Hearing Tom, special artists and the choir brings the church service alive. The walls of our Chapel literately vibrate to the toe tapping music.

I am grateful for Pastor Rick’s sermons and classes. He challenges me with his carefully researched and thoughtful sermons. He moves me to want to learn more about what it is to be a modern Christian. He has helped me to broaden my horizons and bring light into the dark places.

I am grateful for the beauty of this Chapel: Last Christmas season we were asked to help with the greening of the chapel. Several of us decorated the Chapel with fresh green boughs, we set up candles, we hung banners and place poinsettias around the altar. Our little church was ready to help us begin to celebrate the Christmas season. The Chapel looked beautiful on Christmas Eve. That holy night took on a special glow I will long remember.

There is so much more I have been given.

I am grateful for new friends we have found in this inclusive and welcoming environment.

I am grateful for all your prayers in times of celebration or need.

I am grateful for a place where we can respond to those who are suffering because of homelessness, special needs, war or natural disasters. I have received so much I am overflowing with gratitude. I have received, therefore I want to give.

One important way you may express your gratitude is to give.

This is your opportunity to say THANK YOU.

DeeDee Baronian
October 23, 2005

Our stewardship campaign for the coming year is now underway. Pledge envelopes are in the mail and many of you should have received yours already. Any who have not will receive them shortly. Also please note that there are pledge cards in the pews for your convenience. Please make your decisions thoughtfully and mail your envelopes in to the church office. Your pledge will be kept in utmost confidentiality. Dedication Sunday will be November 6 at which time we will bring any remaining pledges to the chapel and assess the total commitment of our congregation for the coming year.

DeeDee and I spend our summer months in Blue Lake Springs, a vacation community in the vicinity of Arnold on Highway 4. Most Sundays we attend a small congregational church in near by Murphys, a historic gold rush town. Last year the first Sunday turned out to be the beginning of their stewardship campaign and Pastor Randlett was giving a report. He told the congregation that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that there was plenty of money to run the church. The bad news was that it was still in their pockets.

I hope that wont be a problem for us. As a matter of fact I want to commend you for the fine record our church has to date for the current year. At the end of August our pledge receipts were right on track at the projected level for the year.

We have something special here in our little church in the valley. This is our home It is a microcosm of what many larger churches would like to be. If you were here last Sunday you heard that new folk song “The Chapel in Carmel Valley” and the words “there is lots of room in the Carmel Valley Chapel”. I would add that there is lots of heart and lots of love in Carmel Valley Chapel.

We have a congregation that cares for each other and is supportive during good times and difficult times alike We have a pastor who is an accomplished scholar and who challenges us to think and examine our values. He is a skillful teacher who believes that learning should not cease after graduation but go on for a lifetime. He wants us to feel free to look at our beliefs and our value systems, to see if they can stand the test of legitimate inquiry and new ideas rather than simply defending things that we were taught a long time ago and which may never have been questioned.

Our music program under the direction of Tom Lawson is second to none for a church of this size. I once suggested to Rick in jest that we ought to charge admission to just hear the varied, creative, inspiring music that we hear every week. There is always something new, something different, something special

When you have something valuable and precious you want to keep it and nourish it and see it grow. If it serves a useful purpose you want to make it better and see it touch as many lives as possible. We want to keep our church and nourish it and make it even better and you have an opportunity to do something about that with your pledge envelope. So please think about it carefully. Our Board tells us that our new budget contains a minimal 4% increase over last year. Let us work towards accomplishment of that goal. Let us not only keep our Chapel, but lets make it better. Its up to you.

Bob Baronian
October 30, 2005