October 23, 2026

Hello, beautiful church!

Well, here we are. The final Sunday of our stewardship campaign! And I have to tell you, I've had an absolutely wonderful time thinking about all of this with you. Who knew stewardship could be so riveting?!

I've been thinking about something rather curious this week.

A little over a month ago, I received something that had been promised to me nearly thirty years ago. Something beautiful, something very old, and something that has a rather remarkable story attached to it.

And ever since, I've found myself thinking about the strange business of inheritance.

Because when we inherit something, what exactly are we receiving?

An object? A memory? A responsibility? A story that somehow continues through us?

And perhaps an even more interesting question: Does receiving something precious obligate us to keep it exactly as we found it?

I find that question particularly compelling when it comes to faith.

Christianity, after all, is an extraordinary inheritance. We didn't invent its stories, its traditions, its language, or its questions. We entered into something that was already underway long before we arrived.

And yet, here we are, living in a world those who came before us could scarcely have imagined.

So what are we supposed to do with what we've received?

This Sunday, we'll spend some time with Psalm 145, particularly its wonderful declaration that “one generation shall extol your works to another.”

I wonder what that really means. Not simply for preserving a religious tradition, but for participating in one that is still alive, still changing, still finding its way in the world.

And as we conclude our For Generations to Come campaign, I think that's a question worth asking.

We have a particularly exciting Sunday ahead! Our children have prepared something special for worship, we'll celebrate the generosity of this congregation, and we'll gather afterward for our stewardship luncheon.

And I'll finally tell you the story of what I received last month. I think you'll find it rather lovely.

Thank you for making this first stewardship season together such an exciting one. I genuinely love imagining what comes next with you.

See you Sunday!

Maria