So, first I have to apologize that this is a day late. I was at a conference on campus most of yesterday and while I had my laptop, I spent most of my time on the laptop doing work things and other times listening to speakers.
What I share below is the stewardship moment that I gave on Sunday. Because it truly is why I give and do what I do for the church.
I wonder if the simple act of me standing right here for this Stewardship Moment let you know exactly what I was going to talk about. Or maybe not.
For a number of months, we have heard from different people or groups talking about what matters to them and what gets them energized and how that energy leads to their stewardship within the church.
And here I am, about to tell you what now gets me energized. If you didn’t guess it already, it is music.
When I first walked in through those doors at the back of the sanctuary, I was anything BUT energized. I was the complete opposite of the Energizer Bunny. I did not want to keep going and going. I was like this for several months.
Until mid-October, Laity Sunday 2020, when the unthinkable
happened. The whole service was filled
with scripture and prayer and a lot of music.
And if that wasn’t enough, the service ended with this… (If you wish to hear, go to this YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/bLI2SGp2Fdk?t=3528 - I tried to get it right at the exact moment you need, but if it didn't quite work, it is at 58:48 in the video.)
(I might not have physical props, but I have audible ones!)
You ever watch one of those medical shows where they use a defibrillator in order to shock someone’s heart? And the patient’s heart starts beating regularly again?
That is what THAT piece did to my energy.
If before I was the opposite of energized, I was now SUPER ENERGIZED. Like someone who had too much caffeine or sugar or both. But instead, music came alive for me. And I regained my love and, okay, a bit of an obsession, of music that I had somehow lost.
Music is what energizes me and recharges me. It energizes me in my daily life. It helps me stay focused while working on projects at work. It helps relax me after a stressful day. It cheers me up when I’m sad. It brings life back to me.
And that, in turn, has led to giving back to this church. Yes, in a monetary way. But also, in other ways. It made me want to be more involved in music in any capacity possible, which was difficult at the time because we were still in 2020 where singing opportunities were limited. But over time it led to helping lead music during services to being part of the PUMC choir.
It also made me speak up when there seemed to be a gap because there I was opening my mouth offering to chair Church Council when I was still trying to find my way among the congregation.
Music energized me not only to be involved with music but to give back to the church in many other ways.
I do not know if it was just the wide participation that day, or that I started to feel like part of the church family, or it was all the music that day that caused a chain reaction that ended with that organ postlude and made me almost jump out of my seat and start dancing around. But I know it returned a love for music to me which then led to wanting to give back to the church in any way I could. It made me a much better steward as I continued my journey as a member of this church family.
Me on 6/12/2022
No comments:
Post a Comment