John's Epistle   

Blessings Abound
 
The email came to me completely out of the blue. It was an offer from Sean McCarther, son-in-law of former members, David and Connie Eldred, to perform a recital of music at Buckingham.
 
I have to admit that my first thought was, "What's the catch?" Regardless of the obvious connection that the Eldreds maintain with our congregation, it was difficult for me to imagine why someone of Sean's considerable gifts would choose our relatively small congregation for a performance with so many large churches in the area. And I wondered how it was that we could make it worth his time, especially when I found out that he and his accompanist, Joseph Neolliste, wanted to perform on Friday evening.
 
In fact, I sort of tried to talk him out of it. After consulting with some of our church leaders, we agreed that it was a long shot for us to provide a crowd of a significant size. So I laid it out there for Sean, who insisted that he and Joseph would be thrilled to perform for us no matter how many-or how few-were in attendance. They even offered to sing for us at both of our Sunday morning worship services. Almost reluctantly, I said, "OK."
 
Having heard them this past Sunday morning, I can't wait for Friday to arrive! What a blessing they were to our congregation in worship. Their eagerness to participate, the enthusiasm with which they shared their amazing gifts, was truly heartwarming. And to expect nothing in return ... well, the fact is you just don't see that very often.
 
I had already expected the blessings to come on Sunday, since I have been looking forward for several weeks to hearing our Youth ensemble, Revelation 21, sing again. Their sound is so sweet and simple, and having those young people up in the chancel, leading us in worship and praise, is just wonderful to behold. I can't thank Jonathan Reger for investing the time it is taking him to coordinate that ministry.
 
This is the way the life of faith works. Blessings abound when people share their God-given gifts with the world. The blessings come both for the receiver and for the giver. But it takes time and effort and perseverance, as well as generosity.
 
Our church is in the midst of investing heavily in our community. For the past several weeks, our education areas have been full to the brim-and running over, to tell the truth-with children and teenagers, as the BUM Preschool program has shared space with the YMCA Teen program and the Garland Free Lunch Program. I'm grateful to Susi Hanson, our amazing Preschool Director, and Linda Story, for taking lots of deep breaths and making it work. Why? Because their investment has allowed blessings to overflow, in spite of the challenges.
 
I can only ask you all this question: How are you sharing your gifts, so that blessings may abound, for you and others? God did not grant us these things so that we might keep them to ourselves. They are to be shared. The more we share them, the more they multiply, and the more blessings abound.
 
Grace and Peace,
Pastor John