Today is pledge dedication Sunday at our church. The process of making and dedicating pledges has been meaningful to me throughout my adult life. Before we were ordained and called to serve congregations, the making of a plan of giving was meaningful for us. We were students and we had very little money beyond what was needed for school expenses and basic survival. Still, by planning carefully, we were able to make a meaningful donation to our church. The amount of money we were able to donate wasn’t a big percentage of what was needed for the church to operate. Our congregation was dependent upon bigger donors than us, but we felt like we were participating in the process of keeping our church operating. As we began to serve the church and our income grew, it was important for us to think each year about what we might donate. I have always kept a commitment about asking others for money. I only ask others to donate to causes that I have donated to. Early in our career, there were resources from the Stewardship Council of the United Church of Christ that challenged church members to donate 5% of their income to the church. The program acknowledged that there are many meaningful ways to give to others and that those gifts represent part of what is referred to in the Biblical concept of tithe. It also gave a meaningful way for those who were not practiced in proportional giving to get to 5% by suggesting that they evaluate their giving and increase by 1% of their total income each year until they reached the 5% goal.

As I thought about our family’s plan of giving, pledge dedication Sunday became an important point to check in with our overall financial plans and evaluate our giving. As a pastor, I tried to craft meaningful worship experiences around the dedication of pledges and plans of giving. Knowing that some church members mailed in pledges and in more recent years made pledges electronically through the church web site, we made sure that there were cards for each pledge that were brought to the sanctuary and placed on the communion table as part of the process. We added the cards that people brought to church or filled out during the worship service and crafted special prayers to ask that those pledges and plans be blessed. I was also always careful to pray for God’s guidance in the use of the financial resources of the church so that we honored the pledges by investing them in service to others and were careful about eliminating waste from the church budget.

As a retired pastor and a somewhat unpracticed lay member of a congregation, I find pledge dedication Sunday to be a bit less meaningful. We still are careful to review our giving plan each year. This year, we once again made our pledge electronically without involving returning a paper pledge card. And, in place of putting a gift in the offering plate each Sunday or having an electronic withdrawal from our bank account as we have done in the past, we will make our gift to the church by having our broker send a check that comes from our mandatory IRA withdrawal to maximize the tax benefit of our giving. Our lives have changed considerably from the days of writing a check each month. Still, I am looking forward to the prayers that dedicate our pledge.

The Bible often speaks of “first fruits” when it speaks of giving. The concept is simple: make giving the highest priority. Give for the support of others before taking for your own support. Back when we gave by writing checks, I tried to make the church pledge payment the first check written after our paycheck was deposited each month. I encouraged the churches I served to do the same: mission giving first and living on the rest. I believe that congregations need to demonstrate what they ask their members to do. The concept of first fruits serves as a reminder that we give because we need to give as much as the recipient needs to receive. To be members of human community, we have a need to give to the support of others. Churches also have a need to be engaged in mission.

Of course there are many meaningful ways to give. This time of year the majority of the mail we receive consists of appeals for donations. I have a plastic box in which I keep address labels to use when I write cards and send letters. It is completely full. I am going to have to start throwing away address labels even though we have only lived at this address for a few years. I have address labels from organizations to which I have never donated. It seems that sending address labels is one way that organizations try to motivate giving. I also have pens and flashlights from several organizations that probably do good work, but that have not become priorities for our giving. I wish that organizations didn’t send all of that stuff in the mail. One organization sent socks, a pen, a flashlight, cards with envelopes and a calendar in the same mailing. I commented on this to a friend who reported that she received two envelopes: one addressed to her and the other addressed to her husband who died over a decade ago. All of that stuff which we don’t need seems to be so wasteful and the reminder of her loss of her husband is not a meaningful way to invite her to give to this charity.

I still believe that the best way to invite people to give is to simply tell them as accurately as possible what the organization will do with the gifts that are received. One nonprofit that we support each year doesn’t send any thank you gifts. Instead a simple thank you card is sent. The organization does have a place on its web site where those who wish to do so can purchase mugs, reusable shopping bags, caps and other items, but those things are not a part of the annual appeal for financial support. I like it that way. I haven’t bought any of their items. I don’t need them. And I know that all of my gift is going toward the annual budget of the organization instead of to high cost fundraising efforts.

Today as our church dedicates pledges, I will add my own prayers for myself that I might continue to find meaningful ways of giving to support others and the work that organizations do to make life easier for those in need. It is good for me to think about my need to give.