Minute for Mission
November 2011
Written by Betty Arvin and Mark Thielman
I’ve been asked to talk to you about why you should consider pledging to St. Stephen. I don’t know why you should support this particular church. (Pause to see Fritz get a bit pale here.) What I mean by that is that church and faith are personal and individually centered. I can only tell you why I support St. Stephen.
I like bagpipes. Every October, I love the pitched wail of the pipes as Pipemaster Bob Richardson leads the Fort Worth Pipers down the nave, kilts breaking just above the knee, the rattling of the snare drums, the pounding of bass. I love the counting of cadence that Mr. Richardson does in his indecipherably authentic accent. Quite by coincidence, the Kirkin of the Tartans has been a part of St. Stephen for exactly as long as we have been members. We call it “Bagpipe Sunday” at our house. We never miss it and now our son, Jack, takes lessons from Mr. Richardson.
My nephew says that he can sort churches by whether they sing their songs from a hymnal or from a Power Point projected on the wall. I like the fact that we sing from a book and that the hymns we sing are part of a liturgy that connects me to the history and diversity within the worship of God.
I love the Iona Boat Song. It made me cry when the choir sang it at the 9/11 memorial service a decade ago and again at my father’s memorial service five years ago. Its haunting melody still stabs me with pangs of wonderful sorrow that speak to me of faith.
I love that my church reaches back to the Book of Isaiah for its service and forward into the community for its mission. I like that we serve food and coffee after the service because I can only absorb so much of that deep stuff when my stomach is growling.
I like that Fritz usually throws down a cultural reference at the start of each sermon that my children actually understand.
I love this church because it has blessed my dog even when she needed a bath.
I like that this church supports a Boy Scout troop that my son, Sam, wants to associate with. That’s Troop 17.
I love this church because Beth reliably finds a little project when Jack needs a last minute volunteer hour for a school requirement, like he did this week.
I like that the neighborhood kids gather here on the few snow days we have and sled down our hill—the highest one around for miles.
I love jogging to the labyrinth just as the sun is rising and feeling God’s presence here at this place.
I like to talk Frog sports with Eddie Shaw after services on Sunday.
I love that when my father-in-law died, the knitting group gave us a handmade throw, a metaphorical hug from this church in our sorrow.
I love my relational church. My dentist attends here as well as my accountant, my mother’s doctor, our running buddies, several of my coworkers, and our best friends, the Nyul Family. My favorite English professor from college attends the same 8:30 service we do. I still remember Dr. Bob Frye’s story about the St. Stephen softball team who had the best educated infield in the county. He is quite a shortstop, by the way.
Over my years here, my life has become woven into the tapestry of this place and its members. I want to be a part of a church service that explores mystery and scholarship and my social responsibility.
I hope that St. Stephen leads me on a path to heaven. I can’t, however, really speak to such big questions. The truth is that we never really know such answers until we are a part of the Church Triumphant.
I support St. Stephen because St. Stephen supports me. It supports me with a cookie when I need a little snack. It looks after my children when they need an extra hour. This church has made me feel part of a responsible community. It has been here when I have buried family. St. Stephen has lifted my soul and sparked my intelligence. In big ways but mostly in small gestures of kindness and spirituality, this church has sustained me, my family and my vision about what a church community should be.
That is why I support St. Stephen. I know that buildings, the staff and the programs all must be paid for. I invite you to detail the reasons why you like it here. Please make that personal commitment to support the ministries of St. Stephen Presbyterian Church.