This is the best time of year in this part of the world. The nights and mornings are cool, but the afternoons are filled with sun and the rich green of late summer. Speaking of green, I was recently told that our church has been talking far too much about money. It has been a bigger topic of concern than usual. Last fall we faced a serious accounting crisis that had dropped our reserves to near zero, and we asked everyone to help Fill the Gap. Last winter we had our usual annual pledge campaign, and then in the spring we had another drive to increase those pledges. This fall we are engaged in the SOS capital fund drive, to repair and improve our building. Then, in six months, we will be facing our annual pledge campaign yet again. This is certainly out of the ordinary, but necessary to make sure we continue to transform individual lives and in the community around us.

Money is rarely an easy topic to address in a congregation of any size because it will always be colored by our attitudes about wealth, worth and personal power; these are always present, and can play havoc with our feelings and perceptions. Talk of money can make us feel alienated from, even resentful of, people who have different means and different income, or merely uncomfortable about our personal financial limits. That is why I intentionally chose as my closing image this Sunday past a story about someone who had lost all material wealth but who still had the respect and honor of his religious community. In our ideal community in the woods we share abundantly and equally the wealth of our stories, our insights, the grace of the towering trees, the bounty of our beautiful building and the treasured vision of a Community of Love and Reason that knows no bounds. Money should serve that, not hinder it.

At the very least I hope you freely enjoy the turning of the seasons as we roll towards autumn in the woods and our part of the world.

Peace, Thomas