"The 'kingdom of heaven' is a condition of the heart - not something that comes 'upon the earth' or 'after death'." It is not so hard for us to agree with these words, we contemporary intelligent people of the 21^st century. It is difficult for us to imagine an otherworldly heaven or even one here on earth. What images came to your mind as we opened the worship service? When these words were written in 1895, the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, believed that religion was no longer meaningful. A son and a grandson of Protestant ministers, he criticized values of his time that he felt were based on fear and resentment which he associated with the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many of us have also wrestled with similar feelings from our own upbringing as we journey into our adult faith convinced that our own children will not learn a faith built on fear but on love and hope.

The Revelation to John, the source of our New Testament reading today, is called eschatological, meaning that it offers us words about a new future. Is it heaven? I don't really know since no one has reported back to me but the description has some of the features that I would hope for in heaven. The verses that were read by Doug include a scene of an enormous crowd, universal, people of every race, tribe, nation and language, all people who have been through persecution and are thankful for God's saving love and sheltering protection. They are promised that they will never again be hungry or thirsty or suffer under scorching hot sun. Instead, the Lamb will be the shepherd and will direct them to springs of life-giving water. God will wipe every tear from their eyes. It is a beautiful picture of heaven with the promise of physical needs being met for all the world's people and God's gentle attention to our emotional needs as well. Though 800 million people today are malnourished, most of us in this room have little first-hand experience of real hunger or thirst, of starvation or yearning for life-giving water. For those who have, these words surely provide hope for God's heaven to be among us not merely a condition of the heart. Isaiah speaks also to that vision of heaven saying, "The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear." Even if we haven't known life-threatening hunger or thirst, both passages tell us that, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." We who have known emotional pain, tears and heartache yearn for that tender touch of God holding us and gently drying our eyes. For many of us the reality has been close and harsh when we have lost our own good health or lost a loved one and felt life ripped away from us. We have also known it when we have gone through a divorce and grieved for a future that will be no more. For some of us we have lost a job or a career and struggled to know our personal identity independent from that work. For others of us who have been forced to escape from war or economic persecution and begin life again in a new place, we long for God to hold us, comfort our memories and wipe our eyes. Could this be heaven, God's future for us?

Our Scripture passages today are particularly chosen in our lectionary for All Saints Day, November 1. It is a time when we remember with gratitude the lives of those who have gone before us. We remember our own loved ones as we will tonight in our beautiful Service of Remembrance. In addition, we remember those whose lives have inspired us in this congregation such as Beverly Bostick and Anne Sweeney, Chuck Findlay and Jack Frost, Goody Miller, Joy Dutkin, and Andrea Hobart. We pray that they are with God in their own heavenly place knowing comfort and love. For we who remain, we are unsure about how soon God's promises will be fulfilled. When will we on earth know the end to the pain of hunger and the grief of loneliness? Biblical writers wisely refrain from answering such questions, yet Gospel stories of Jesus raising Lazarus and even Jesus himself appearing to his friends after his crucifixion remind us that the future breaks through even in the present. You and I know those instances when we have truly experienced a heavenly moment: a sense of comfort in the midst of grief, a spiritual drink of cool water during the dry spell of our soul.

As a church congregation, the Body of Christ, we in this community are called to live into that hope, into that heavenly future - to imagine it, envision it and express it as much as we are able to do in our daily lives. Our Presbyterian constitution, the Book of Order, says it this way. We are called to proclaim the Good News by sheltering, nurturing, and offering spiritual fellowship, to promote social justice and to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.¹ "Exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven"…that's a tall order. How are we going to do that in this little Westminster Church?

I'll let you in on a little secret. It is already happening here in many different ways. When we kicked off the pledge campaign on September 29, you heard how important it was to Ginny and Chuck Quick that you welcomed and loved their son Kyle as well as their son Matt from the minute their family first came to worship. That was a surprisingly wonderful experience for them. Secondly, there is currently one among you who has basically adopted an older longtime member of this church who has no family nearby. That person visits her several times each week and is alert to and concerned about her every need. That love, unsolicited, has been an invaluable gift to our older, very special church member. A third instance of a window of heaven is one of our incredible youth, one who grew up in this church and is now an adult, Johana Patler. Johana participated in four high school house-building trips to Mexico and understood the way her life was influenced by the people she met in Tijuana and the work she did there. Johana now, completely on her own, organizes an annual trip of college age church members and friends doing all the necessary fundraising and planning to provide this experience for other youth. This is just a teeny snapshot of the ways you as a congregation exhibit God's Good News and God's Heavenly Kingdom on a regular basis. These are individual acts, just three of hundreds that go on daily and are possible because of the support and love of this community, our ministry together. These acts happen within the congregational family and also beyond as members feel inspired and supported to serve on school boards and foundations, start orphanages and work for low-cost housing, administer health care, teach children, provide counseling, help refugees adjust to a new life and offer food to hungry people. Unfortunately, though, that ministry can't run on prayers alone.

Today, is Pledge Dedication Sunday, the day when our elected Elders, the current Session members, ask us to commit our financial support to continue the life of this congregation in the year 2003 and envision the role of this church in the world. You received the letter and pledge card last month and are aware that the proposed budget is over $400,000, most of which comes from our pledges. You may have wondered how that money is used, how Sunday School is funded, Choir music, toilet paper, hot meals for homeless, the church newsletter or church donations to those in need. There are six general areas. First, the building: maintenance for this sanctuary, the classrooms, the offices and the kitchen, Findlay Hall, and Fireside Room used not only for church functions but offered to the community for AA meetings six times each week, music lessons, and other outside programs. It funds the salary for our wonderful Sexton, Jesus Posada, who takes incredible care of the building and can fix anything! That's about 20% of the budget. Once we have the building, second, we need office support and church officer assistance: that includes computers and paper supplies, postage and fax machine, and that other very wonderful person, Carlotta Kidd, our administrator, who is outgoing and friendly and remembers everything that needs to be done long before Doug or I think of it. There are also two more wonderful people, Ann White and Sam Bingaman, who keep track of church income and expenses. That administrative support is about 27% of the budget. Thirdly, once we have the building and the ability to keep it running smoothly, we have, most importantly, our weekly Sabbath worship as well as other special services as we will have tonight. Worship includes the preachers, music, choir robes, organ and piano maintenance, sheet music, and more very wonderful people, Martha Vujovich and Jeffery Paul plus occasional special guests and flowers and banners and communion cups and candles. That covers about 20% more of the budget. Fourthly, 10% supports a very full church school and education program for children, youth, and adults. Thankfully, you take turns being volunteer church school teachers so the expenses are in supplies and staffing from more very wonderful people, Church Educators Ann White, Kelly Guyton, and Cheri Chamberlain with her helpers in the Nursery. Fifthly, about 10% of the budget covers the important time that Doug and I spend with you in pastoral care, that is in counseling or hospital visitation, weddings and memorial services, one-on-one meetings with individuals and families. And finally, 10% of the budget goes to work outside our community, to medical missions, Marin General Hospital Chaplaincy, The San Rafael Canal Ministry, and other caring organizations. We also have van maintenance so that our youth can do mission in Mexico and our senior group can have special excursions.
Most of what we do as a congregation to share the Good News and exhibit God's Kingdom of Heaven doesn't have a direct expense attached to it. However, it is this structure that you see displayed that provides the support, that allows us to come together, to inspire and care for each other, to pray for each other, to encourage each other so that we can open our hearts and minds and lives to God's vision of heaven and our part in it - both as a community and as individuals in our day-to-day lives and in the world. What is your picture of heaven? How do you feel when you imagine yourself there? How are others affected in your vision? This congregation, this Body of Christ, has a role in this community and in this world. Your voice and your commitment are needed. How will we embody the Body of Christ in 2003? How will we help God's Kingdom to come?

In chapter 21 of Revelation, the writer speaks of a new Jerusalem, a heavenly future described by a loud voice from a throne saying, "The home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them; they will be God's peoples and God will be with them; God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."

1. Book of Order, PC(USA), G-1.0200 The Great Ends of the Church