What are you putting in the basket?
‘When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.’ Deuteronomy 26.v.1-2

As we celebrate a particularly abundant harvest and the experience of a ‘mast’ year when so much has been plentiful in our fields, hedgerows and woodland I want to reflect on reciprocity and do so in relation to our church life.

The abundance of the season is currently reflected in our little church in Chaldon, so much is happening at that is good and enriching; in our worship, in our community life, in our churchyard but it is not sustainable while it depends on the few and not the many.

You may not be aware that as a parish church we do not receive financial help from the Church of England; what we do receive from the Diocese of Southwark is a parish priest, training opportunities, safeguarding, and the support that comes with a large institution.

Each year as a parish church we are asked to make a contribution to the Diocese of Southwark towards the cost of having a parish priest. At Chaldon our contribution only covers 2/3 of the cost of a part time priest. This means that we are subsidised by the Diocese and therefore by other parishes who give over and above the cost of their vicar even though in terms of average income, we are one of the richest parishes in the Diocese. In addition, we are responsible for all the day to day running costs of our Grade one listed building, last year excluding our contribution to the Diocese, and our Phase 1 building costs our running costs were £470 a week.

My job is supposed to be part time and as you know we are currently advertising for a replacement for Rev Annie, when we make an appointment there will once again be 2 part time priests serving St Luke’s and St Peter and St Paul. As a part time priest, I cannot and do not run the church on my own. We have two other salaried employees, our gifted young organist Daniel and our Parish Administrator, Alison who also works more than the hours she is paid for and then we have our wonderful Churchwardens and other volunteers.

As the church continues to thrive and offer new initiatives, we really do need everyone to be active participants in the life of the church. If you appreciate the presence of the church in your life and are not already making a regular financial offering please do consider what you might be able to give on a monthly basis. When you receive emails asking for practical help please remember we are inviting everyone in to help because we need everyone to pitch in. The more of us who join in the more we will flourish, the less we will burn out and the more likely we are to be able to justify to the Diocese it is worth us having a parish priest.

I hope that you feel when you come to church that you have found your way home, you have come into a land you wish to inhabit, a place where you can be nourished.

Of course, the church is human and flawed but together I hope we do our best with God’s grace to be a place of welcome, respite and imagining, please consider how you can help us to be a sustainable community that draws on the many for funding and for help, so that we can reverse the current trend of the few serving the many.

In her book ‘The Serviceberry’ Robin Wall Kimmerer explores the ways in which the natural world operates through systems of reciprocity – let’s make our church a place that mirrors that, a place where we acknowledge our blessings and give back in ways that enrich our community both financially and practically.

Take a moment to consider the basket mentioned in Deuteronomy, if you are already giving that basket will already be a part of your life and you will know who you are, if the basket is one you lay aside perhaps this is the moment to pop something in it in gratitude for those who keep our church open and welcoming to all and you too will be contributing to an abundant inheritance.