Imagine life in 1971 if you can.
- Cigarette advertising was permanently banned on television and radio
- Chemists at Berkeley announce the first synthetic production of a growth hormone
- The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys
- NASDAQ established in New York City
- The Vietnam War continues
- Muhammad Ali loses to Joe Frazier in the “Fight of the Century”
- Starbucks is founded in Seattle
- Several mass protest marches occurred throughout the country
- Amtrak begins rail operations
- Pentagon Papers
- Apollo 15 lands on the moon
And these random highlights only take us through mid-July 1971.
The point is that every year is full of complexities. Every year offers new challenges as to how we treat one another, what kind of decisions we make, what do we dream as important. Every year is a time where we think about who and what are our safe places – those spaces that offer us sanctuary from the changes we must deal with in everyday life.
For people of faith, one of those safe places is the church – Greenbelt Community Church UCC. Here we find community. Here we find inspiration. Here we find meaningful discussions. Here we find people willing to help us be more faithful disciples.
Something else happened in 1971. That was the year John Lennon wrote his song “Imagine”. One of the stanzas seems particularly relevant to this year’s stewardship theme: “Imagine Together.” In the world briefly suggested above Lennon wrote:
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Imagine – a world without people who are food insecure or starving; a world where no child goes to bed hungry; a world where no refugee is abandoned in a strange place without resources; where our planet is cared for; a world where no one needs to feel alone and without help; a world each person is free to be their full self, free of discrimination; a world of extravagant welcome, affirming love, a caring community.
That trip into the imagination is what Stewardship/Pledge Sunday is all about. This coming Sunday we will be gathering our Pledge Commitments to this church. Through these commitments we will know the resources we will have available to make our collective imagination become real.
See you Sunday!
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