About 5 years ago – 18 years into my tenure here -- an incredulous colleague asked me how I could possibly stay in the same church for so many years – clergy move about every 6 years. He wondered if I was too comfortable in cozy ol’ Marin, or maybe I was making a bundle of money. In fact, I told him that I was in a rare congregation that balanced heart and mind, intellect and spirit, faith and practice, and love and compassion. With deepening suspicion he asked about conflict in the church. I told him that conflict was always subordinated to a deeper commitment to Christ and the church, and by a resolute intention to talk about and honor our differences rather than tolerate an homogenous theology, politics, and worldview. You know, I told him, I am not about to make the same mistake as Adam and Eve and leave this garden of Eden! Stay here? You better believe it!

I hope that as you think about the place in your life of your church’s mission and ministry and what it means to your spirituality, you are equally proud to speak of Westminster to your fiends and neighbors. This is a good place to bring a new neighbor or an old friend who wants to find a spiritual home. This welcoming and inclusive community is not hogtied by doctrine and dogma. Here, people are safe in their person, honored on their journeys, and empowered to put their spirituality into practice. Here, the good news of God’s love finds practical application in daily life. So tell others that such a place exists; invite them to come here ----- to come home.

What do your tithes and pledges support and what do people find when they first come here? First, we have a graded Sunday school program with dynamic, fun teachers who show our children and youth that they are unconditionally loved and accepted by Jesus Christ and their church family. Three years ago, in a leap of faith, the special fundraising campaign closed a critical gap in our Christian education responsibility when we hired Bethany Nelson to work full time with the middle and high school age youth. Her joyously successful work continues as the special support and program now roll into the annual budget.

Second, you want worship and liturgy, and rituals and teachings that inspire and challenge you to live a meaningful faith day-by-day in the post-modern age. Barbara and I study hard, work intently on our own spiritual practices, read widely, and bring you teachings that we hope ground your spirit in Christ’s love and fill you with hope and faith.

Two choirs, the contemporary singers, and the teen musical band bless and lift our spirits. The Joyful Noise choir, directed by Barbara Kessell, brings the gifts of music to our children. The Sanctuary Choir and Brandon Brack lead us in praising God. The contemporary singers get our hands clapping and stir our souls, and the teens have a hot gospel/Christian music group that you’ll be hearing more often.

Now, your lives and days are full and busy. Sports activities and recreation routinely crowd-out normal Sabbath times. In response to your stated desire to be in worship, we have two exciting initiatives to share. First, on January 9, we will begin a Sunday evening worship that is "come as you are" – off the ski slopes, mountain trails, athletic fields, or whatever – dress up or dress down, just come! Come as you are! The gathering from 5:30-6:15 will be lively, rich with music -- mostly contemporary -- short, practical teachings -- often interactive -- and all of it meaningful for all ages. If you like this gathering and if you support it with your presence, we can make it a year round offering.

Second, on the four Wednesdays of Advent I will offer a 30-minute mid-week spiritual boost with a contemplative gathering in the sanctuary. During Advent we will stand at the manger, meet its characters, and deepen the personal meaning of the Nativity. The gathering will start 5 minutes after the bus from the ferry stops across the street. If you like it and show up for it in Advent, we’ll be here each Wednesday in Lent and Pentecost.

Third, pastoral care is a vital part of the ministry you support. Your staff stands with you in the difficult times of grief, loss, illness, transition, troubled relations, emotional difficulties, spiritual seeking, and tough choices. We offer you pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, and quality referrals when necessary. One or more of your ministerial staff -- Barbara, Bethany, and I -- are on-call 24/7/365. And, through the Deacons people receive prayerful presence and additional comfort, support, and practical services.

Fourth, your tithes and pledges support classes and programs that foster spiritual formation, prayer, meditation, and contemplation. There are retreats, seminars, and classes to increase biblical literacy, explore ethical values, deepen theological understanding, encourage personal growth, and strengthen family life, marriage, and personal relationships.

Fifth, mission is a vital part of the life of this church. Together we serve hot meals in three programs, tutor kids, fill food barrels, serve on boards, and support local groups that serve the underserved. We support chaplains at the hospital, jail, and to the homeless. Together we roll up our sleeves regionally and nationally, building houses with Habitat, cleaning beaches, and caring about the environment. Together we are a global church – not a tribal community but a global congregation -- with a healing presence in Guatemala, Mexico, Arizona, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

You and your church make a remarkable difference in people’s lives and throughout our community. Westminster was pivotal in birthing and sustaining the Marin Interfaith Council, opening 5 shelters for the homeless, building the transitional housing/training center at Hamilton, and starting the program that now guarantees a hot meal every day of the week to anyone in southern Marin who is hungry.

Twenty-five years ago Westminster was a small, struggling church of 80 members with 4-6 children in Sunday school. Today you have grown this church to nearly 500 with 375 children and youth.

Your tithe or pledge to this church is a dynamic investment that makes a very real, very substantial difference in what was once thought to be the most non-religious, un-churched county in the country. You have made Westminster a genuine presence for good, and a respected and healthy spiritual community in Marin County.

In all candor, we cannot sustain this level of mission and ministry, or undertake initiatives if the church’s income stream does not reverse a your year trend paralleling the U.S. economy and begin to grow steadily over the next three years. We do not receive money from the denomination, or rely on endowments, or have a cadre of wealthy donors. Everything I have described happens because of your annual pledges that average $2,500. Beginning with pledges for next year, we must increase the overall average to $2,800 or make critical cuts. I hope you will give as you are able, and you know what you are able to do, and as God provides.

I do not believe for a moment that God brought us to this point in time to cut back on mission and ministry, or worse, to manage programmatic and fiscal decline. We are here, by God, to be a strong church, an authentic spiritual presence, a beacon of inclusion, justice, and peace, and a witness to God who loves all people with an everlasting love.