On the east coast of Virginia, there is a small town called, Ordinary. It is a town in Gloucester County along U.S. Route 17. The zip code for the post office in Ordinary, Virginia is 23131. I would imagine it becomes a great conversation starter once you graduate from high school and move away, as people ask you where you are from.
I can also imagine the First Baptist Church of Ordinary. Is it difficult to tell your story to others when you are immersed in what is “ordinary?” Perhaps this is always the case with our faith. We are currently in the season of the Church Year, which we refer to as “time after Pentecost,” but it is also called, “Ordinary Time.” Our faith is focused on ordinary time because that is where we live out our daily lives. It is also the focus of stewardship.
Stewardship encompasses all of our lives, as we respond to the grace of God, which has given us life, and life anew. Our faith shapes all of who we are, so our stewardship encompasses all of what we say and do. It is how we use our time, talent, and treasure, which includes the daily interactions we have with our family, the work we accomplishment each week, the prayers we utter each day, and the concerns we have about the needs of this world. All of who we are is the topic of stewardship, which happens in what is rather ordinary.
On Sunday, October 8, we will celebrate Pledge Sunday, giving thanks for the stewardship of the congregation and renewing our commitment to our ministry together. Pledge Sunday is about living out our faith in the midst of the ordinary.
We will simply step back to say, “Thank You.” We will give thanks to God for the grace, which surrounds us, and we will give thanks for one another and our ministry together. We will remember that in the midst of the ordinary and our commitment to one another we might unearth something extraordinary. We will acknowledge the faithful presence of God and the kindness of the church, which have shaped our lives in ways that we will never forget.
-Tripp