Our Stewardship theme of “Rooted in Love” draws inspiration from Psalm 1, “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season.” The Psalmist invited us to imagine all the good things we can bear when well planted. What might we give away when rooted in love? 

But the Psalmist also meant something deeper. The word we translate as “planted” in English means “transplanted” in Hebrew. This translation speaks to the power of love to move us from one place to another, the power to convert us from one way of life to another. What would need to change in our lives for us to be fully rooted in love? 

We might need to make a move from a “mindset of scarcity” to a “mindset of abundance.” A scarcity mindset makes us think there will never be enough – we must compete, one against another, because there is not enough to go around. Scarcity thinking names all the things we cannot do, all the things we cannot share. But a mindset of abundance sees the fullness of God’s love. Martin Luther King Jr. saw the world abundantly – despite all the injustice he confronted, King knew God’s spirit moved through history, creating and renewing community. 

King once described the force of love that animated the Civil Rights Movement. “Agape is not a weak, passive love. It is love in action. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community. It is insistence on community even when one seeks to break it. Agape is a willingness to go to any length to restore broken community.” 

What would it mean for our lives to be rooted in such love? 

You are invited to share in God’s love through giving. Our financial giving is a witness to our faithfulness even in difficult times. It supports this local church as well as the ministry of the United Church of Christ.

Visit our Stewardship page to complete an estimate of giving or to donate.