End of year need: $525,884
It happens every year! It’s a staple in our church; you could even say it literally holds together old and new, as great traditions do. Every year during the Youth Choir home concert after choir tour, they sing Psalm 139. It is at that moment generations of Wilshirites move to the chancel to join the youth. What a joy it was to see Charlene Law, Carolyn Murray and Lucy Kate Murray singing together, displaying family generations but also eyes that have seen so much happen in the life of our church. I saw preschoolers and children watching with sparkling eyes, wondering when it will be their turn to join, and high school seniors realizing next year they’ll be walking up as alumni.
This weekend is a time of excitement as we welcome Ariel Merivil as our minister of music candidate. While worship is first and foremost for God, this Sunday will also blend the beauty of our music, past, present and future. While we may not all run up to the front to sing, most of us will run up to place our votes to secure a new future for our music ministry. That, my friends, is something worth singing about.
This year we have shared many notes of love and rejoicing. We have been generous with the tunes of our heart and the heart of the gospel. Tunes like Mary’s: “God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; God has brought down the mighty from their thrones.” Or Mariam’s: “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” And of course the tune of the psalmist which keeps on knitting us together through the years: “Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know everything I do. When I rise and lie down, you are with me through and through. Before a word is on my tongue, you know what I will say, your presence follows me day by day.”
As pastor and residency alum John Jay Alvaro says, “Generosity is the engine of the universe. In the Trinitarian vision of God, generosity is an ever-flowing movement of grace and love, which extends out to all of creation. Our own generosity is born out of an awareness that our lives are received as gifts from God. We are not self-made. Therefore, we hold our possessions lightly, so they might be turned loose for the help and healing of the world.”
When you give to the Unified Budget, you make it possible for the tunes to keep on playing. We have $525,884 left to give this year to complete our budget. I pray you’ll take some time to consider what sacrificial gift you can make before Dec. 31.
—Timothy Peoples
For more about giving, visit wilshirebc.org/give.