An article from the Cathedral Times
by the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip
My Thanksgiving sermon at the annual community thanksgiving service was titled, "What are you harvesting?" As we take time to give thanks, I ask each of us: "What are we harvesting in life?"
The question can also be asked, "What are you planting?" Because Galatians 6 reminds us that we harvest what we sow. If we want to harvest joy, we must plant joy. If we want to harvest peace, we must sow peace. If we want to harvest good, we should be about speaking good news. (Check out our Cathedral web site for the entire Thanksgiving sermon.)
But I also must say something else: It is not just you who benefits from giving thanks and thus harvesting thanks. Giving thanks is good for each of us, to be sure. But it's not just we who benefit. It's also God who benefits. In fact,,.
God Needs You!
Yes, God needs you. God needs you to give thanks. And God needs you to give generously to your church. God needs you to give generously to the Cathedral of St. Philip. Do you know where your Cathedral pledge envelope is?
The old Beatles song went like this:
"You don't realize how much I need you,
Love you all the time and never leave you
Please come on back to me
I'm lonely as can be."
I imagine God singing that song to each of us. God needs us to be generous in our giving, so that God's work can continue at the Cathedral.
Do you know where your Cathedral pledge envelope is?
Is it sitting lonely beneath that pile of mail on your desk? Has your pledge envelope been stuffed into the back of the kitchen drawer? Was it you or your loved one who mistakenly misplaced it?
I know you gave generously before. Most of you gave generously to our capital campaign, too. But God needs us to give regularly, not just once. It is not just one prayer that draws us closer to God; it is the practice of continued prayer. So, too, with financial giving. God uses our continued and faithful giving to continue his ministry here at the Cathedral of St. Philip.
Do you know where your Cathedral pledge envelope is?
That pledge card needs to be back at the Cathedral. It needs to be recorded by our finance office and recognized by our devoted stewardship committee! That pledge card needs to be your written record of seed and harvest. Yes, those who give generously will reap generously.
St. Paul said it simply: "The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ,God loves a cheerful giver. ,You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us" (2 Corinthians 9.6,7, 11).
The Very Rev. Sam Candler