Why I Pledge to Trinity Church
Comments by Warner Marshall on November 1, 2009
Trinity on the Green, New Haven, CT
When Jim asked me to look into my heart and thoughts, and talk on the subject of stewardship, I thought "that's probably a good idea from time to time, to take a fresh, honest look." It's a good idea for all of us I suspect, and so here is what I see when I look in there.
I see that I pledge to Trinity Church because I believe in it, and us, and our ongoing search together for a more REAL connection to God. I think that says it all. I believe in this no matter whether I AGREE with all the things we do in this church, or whether I agree with what the national church does, or whether I don't--whether I agree with how money is spent or whether I don't.
Because what I believe in is bigger than that. As I say, I believe in our church, and we who live in it, and our ongoing search together to find a more real connection to God.
It's often easy for me, and for many of us I expect, to put distance between ourselves and the church, because we may disagree with one thing or another that it does, in an attempt to find a way to avoid having to make the sacrifice--and it IS a real sacrifice--of giving our money to support it.
But I think this may in the end be just a way of kidding ourselves about what this place means to us, because if we really look hard inside, it's difficult to ignore that ineffable spirit that somehow arises from all of us when we sing the doxology together--praising and giving on through generations backwards in time, and forwards. When you get right down to it, we don't really know much else, but at least we can do this! We can praise, and we can give--in all sorts of ways.
Because the fact is that this is our own SANCTUARY, and it is our own sanctuary no matter whether Andy is here, or Jim is here, or whoever the new rector turns out to be.
While there is mayhem and murder, and appalling brutality in so many foreign lands every day, and while so much of our time outside these walls is taken up with a whirl of the superficial, Trinity stands as a waiting refuge rich with fellowship, peacefulness, challenge, and wisdom--a true sanctuary where all the beauty that hands can shape, or voices can sing, or hearts can hope, is ours by simply walking through the doors.
So I guess the answer to the question of why I pledge is this: whether I like it or not, my love for the mission and the people of Trinity has kind of backed me into a corner. It's not an unwelcome one, but it's still a corner, and the result is that I can't really not pledge. I have no choice. I can't not pledge and still honestly feel the way I do about this church.
I hope if you think about it, that you feel this way too.