Reservoir Membership, and Wisdom from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

November 19, 2020

Hi, Friends. This month, in our “Salt of the Earth” Sunday series, we are exploring different aspects of what it means to practice healthy and useful faith in community in a post-Christian world. I talked specifically about church this past weekend. While we wait to return to in person worship together at some point in 2021, this year represents both a crisis and an opportunity for us. Most of us don’t like how homebound and physically separate we are in many areas of our lives. Many of us dearly miss the physicality of shared public life, including that around Reservoir. This is certainly true for me. But with some of that stripped away, there is an opportunity to remember that who we are called to be has not changed. Reservoir Church gathers people who want to be inspired to discover more of the love of Jesus, the joy of living, and the gift of community. We are inclusive of everyone, just as we are, without exception because we believe God is.  And humbly, joyfully, we are looking to walk with God and one another into lives that promote flourishing, for one another and for the world at large.   As we move toward the end of the year in church life, here are a few things we encourage you to keep in mind or to respond to. For those of you who have made or want to make Reservoir your church, we strongly encourage you to become members this month. Part of membership at Reservoir involves giving time and resources to support the life and work of the church. If you would like to start giving financially at Reservoir or to make an additional year-end gift beyond your normal contributions, you can do so here at any time. Because are a vibrant, active church in a transient city, every year we need to replace $5,000 to $10,000 per month in giving. Late last year, thanks to folks’ generosity, we were successful in doing so. We are praying for the same this year.  And one more thing on membership. We usually hold potluck members’ meetings 3-4 times per year. It’s been a while. We can’t have a potluck yet, but we will hold a year-end Members Meeting on Sunday, December 6 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm.  Please hold the date if you’re able – we’’ll share details very soon!  I mentioned the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in my sermon this past Sunday. Sacks strongly advocates for people of faith to practice the deep particulars of their faith (in our case, to love and respond to Jesus in many ways), while also joyfully engaging in the common good of the whole pluralistic society. Sacks’ writing and speaking is accessible in many places if you’re curious. A great introduction to his wise voice, if you are curious, can be found in a recent “On Being” rebroadcast of an interview with him. I found his comments on faith, on love of the stranger, on sabbath, and on religious reform in our times really helpful. His bracing line he quotes, “We must love one another or die,” and his hopeful response to that were also just what I needed to hear today. We’ll spend two more Sundays looking at healthy and useful faith in the world before we transition to what I’m praying will be the joyful, hopeful Advent and Christmas season that we all need.  Peace, Love, Courage be yours today,Steve