Perseverance, St. Cuthbert's, and Stewardship

Sermon delivered Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016 (The Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 24, Year C, Track 2)), at St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church, Oakland, CA.

Sermon Text(s): Genesis 32:22-31, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8



It doesn’t always work out this way, but occasionally all the scriptures AND the collect for the day have a very clear theme and connection. Today is one of those days. We have it spelled out for us in the opening collect, when we asked God to:

“Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith …”

Perseverance is all over these scriptures today – from Jacob wrestling with the angel to Paul’s instructions to Timothy to be “persistent” in teaching the faith, “whether the time is favorable or unfavorable” to the widow’s unfailing determinism to get justice from the unjust judge.

All of these folks stick it out against all odds. They refuse to give up. They keep knocking and knocking and knocking even when the door seems to be welded shut. These scriptures teach us that perseverance is key to the life of faith. Persevere whether you are contending against the forces of God or of this world, whether you are dealing with the frustration of unanswered prayer or the obstacles of unjust social structures. Persevere, because it is through persistence that you will ultimately come to reach your goal, whether that is a greater connection with God, answers to unanswered questions, or justice for those who have been wronged.

From what I know about St. Cuthbert’s, I think you all know quite a bit about perseverance. The written history of this place that was posted on the old website describes a people who have persisted in the face of all odds to do God’s work in this corner of East Oakland.

According to that written history (as articulated by Steve Keplinger and updated by Pamela Cranston), throughout the years, St. Cuthbert’s has faced numerous challenges to its existence but has proved to be a tenacious bunch in the face of adversity. For some of you who lived through this history, this will not be news, but for those of you who are newer to this place, allow me to provide a brief summary of that history.

In the mid-1940s, after its creation as a mission outreach of St. Andrew’s in San Leandro, St. Cuthbert’s was so small it did not even have the regular services of a priest. In the late 50s, the building of the freeway split this neighborhood in two, causing a decrease in population in the area. The church grew in the 60s, but in the 70s, conflict in the wider church around the revision of the prayer book and the ordination of women severely reduced membership, and “by 1974,” the history says, “the possibility of closure was imminent.”

But the people of St. Cuthbert’s persevered – the written history actually uses that word! They went through an interim period, then called a new priest, and managed to pay off their mortgage by 1982.

In the 80s, the church grew and was able to move from mission to parish status, but the earthquake in 1989 and the fire in 1991 affected neighborhoods surrounding the church and reduced membership, and in the late 90s the church again shifted back to mission status, with some members also leaving due to the fact that the congregation had called its first openly gay priest. (The written history didn’t say that, but I’ve been told that by some of you as you’ve shared your stories of your own histories here.)

Again, though, despite these challenges, the people of St. Cuthbert’s hung on. The parish became increasingly ethnically diverse during the late 90s and early 2000s, and began to do more interfaith work, specifically Buddhist-Christian dialogue activities around contemplative practice.

In the mid-2000s, however, after a period of functioning with a vicar and a part-time associate priest, the congregation went back to a single priest who was paid just a quarter-time salary. During the past 10 years, this congregation has experienced a continual loss of membership. As I’ve gotten to know you over the past seven months, I’ve heard many of your stories about your experiences during that time, and I’ve come to the conclusion that those of you who are still here are pretty much tough as nails. You are the epitome of perseverance. You’re not going down unless the ship is going down.

And that’s a good thing, because once again St. Cuthbert’s is at a turning point in its history. During this discernment period, this “year of exploration” that the diocese has instructed us to take, we are considering what the future of St. Cuthbert’s will be. I think most of you know that we’re in a place similar to where the congregation has been before, in one of those “crossroads moments.” The current state of affairs in this congregation is not sustainable over the long-term. Without an increase in membership from younger generations and an increase in financial giving, this congregation will slowly dwindle out of existence over time. Maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.

What some of you may not know is that this summer, your Bishop’s Committee took a leap of faith. When they entered into a six-month contract with me, beginning in July and ending at the end of this calendar year (with the option to renew for another six months), they did something very few church boards would be willing to do. They made a budget decision based on hope, not fear. They decided to raise my salary and my hours from 40% of full time to 60% of full time -- even though there was no money in the budget to do so.

St. Cuthbert’s has been blessed with generous financial bequests from parishioners at their deaths, and we have a balance of about $300,000 in our reserve funds in the bank. Although it is not good financial practice to spend down one’s reserves to meet the operating budget, the B.C. realized that they couldn’t keep doing what they’d been doing and expect different results. They couldn’t expect the church to grow or revitalize with a quarter-time priest. So, expressing a great deal of faith in me and in this congregation, they stepped out in faith and made the decision to pull from their financial reserves in order to make an investment in the congregation’s future.

The Random House Dictionary defines “perseverance” as “steady persistence in a course of action [or] a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.” That’s pretty much the definition of what the leadership here has done throughout its history to continue the work of God in this community, and the present day is no different.

It’s important to realize, though, that this decision is not financially sustainable over time. There must be a significant growth in income for this congregation in order for it to be able to sustain anything close to the clergy services it has come to expect.

To give you a realistic picture of where things stand: I am currently paid for 24 hours of work each week. I consistently go over that number of hours worked, sometimes by just an hour or two, but sometimes by as much as 6 or 8 hours. Before the BC raised my salary, I was working pretty consistently at least a 20 hour week, if not more, although I was only being paid for 16 hours. So in effect, what they BC did in raising my salary was pay me for what I was already doing.

I’ve tried very hard in the past four months since my formal contract began to give you a realistic picture of what you can expect from a priest working 60% of full time hours for 60% of full time pay. But even in order to sustain that, something significant needs to change about the financial situation of this parish.

I say this all not to instill fear in you or to use guilt as a motivator, but in the interest of being open, transparent, and honest. This is our situation. What are you going to do to change it? What is possible for you to do to change it? Can you increase your financial pledge to St. Cuthbert’s in a way that will be sustainable long-term? If you’re already giving at the maximum amount possible for you, how might you look into alternative sources of funding to support St. Cuthbert’s? Could you write a grant proposal? Raise funds in some other way?

Your response to this fall’s stewardship campaign will give us an indication of what may be possible here at St. Cuthbert’s in the coming years. From my perspective, I can envision three possible futures for St. Cuthbert’s:

- The congregation could continue its giving at the same level as it has been. If this is the case, the congregation will eventually run out of money and be forced to choose between closing its doors or merging with another nearby congregation.

- The congregation could increase its giving to the point that it can make the current clergy salary rate of 60% of full time long-term sustainable, and continue at that level, as a mission with a part-time priest.

- The congregation could start to grow again, which would be seen in increased income and increased attendance, and eventually reach the point where it could achieve parish status again, with a full-time priest and a robust outreach ministry to this neighborhood. In order for this goal to be attainable financially anytime in the near future, it would most likely involve providing the vicarage as a home to the priest, because when a congregation provides housing to a priest, they can pay the priest 20% less than a full time salary because the value of the housing is understood to be part of the total compensation package. One possible avenue to being able to afford full-time clergy services more quickly would be to join in some formal partnership with United Lutheran Church of Oakland, which is part of the reason we’re beginning some conversations with them; between the two congregations, perhaps the members could come up with enough funds to pay one full-time priest or pastor.

These are all possible scenarios for St. Cuthbert’s, and there may be others as well. None of them means “success” or “failure.” Whatever scenario is pursued, we want it to be one that is in line with God’s will, and we have to remember that God is in the business of turning things on their heads, in that great reversal where “the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Sometimes “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom” and “God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” – in other words, what we might see as “success” might actually be “failure,” and what we might see as “failure” might actually be “success.”

I think it’s no secret to many of you that personally, I’ve been pushing and hoping for that last scenario I mentioned, envisioning this place as a flourishing center of community life and ministry in this neighborhood, and even possibly seeing myself as that long-term full-time priest here.

In my own personal discernment, I have come to the conclusion that I am called to full-time work in the church. I am an “all in” kind of person. I have a hard time holding myself back from giving 100% to something that I’m doing. I don’t really know how to give 60%, despite the fact that I’m trying to give you a realistic perspective of what 60% is. But doing that has left me with a constant sense of dissatisfaction, knowing that I’m not doing everything I could be doing to serve this community, and that drives me crazy. I also don’t do well with my commitments spread out over various places, as they would be if I worked multiple part-time jobs to try to cobble together a full-time salary. So because I’ve discerned that, and because I love this place and its people, I’ve been running scenarios about how this place could fit what I know I am called to do. But you all may not decide that you are able to or want to work toward becoming a parish with a full-time priest.

Ultimately, discernment is a matter of listening for God’s will, which may or may not be synonymous with our will. In my enthusiasm and love for this place, I’ve begun to conflate my will with God’s will, and that’s a dangerous thing for a priest to do. These ideas I have, so far they’re really just about me – about my enthusiasm for this community and my ideas for the kinds of ministry I could see happening here and the potential for growth – but the future of this congregation is not about me. It’s about you, the people of St. Cuthbert’s, and what God is calling you to do.

This is why I’m very glad the Bishop’s Committee is considering hiring a third-party consultant – someone who will not have a stake in the outcome in the way that I would – to assist St. Cuthbert’s in your own work of discernment.

So persevere, my brothers and sisters. Keep up that tenacious spirit that has kept you going this long, and do the hard work of listening for where and how God is calling you to “be the church,” God’s beloved community, in this place at this point in time. There may be some difficult reflections and conversations in the coming months, but you need to answer these questions for yourselves:

What do you want for this church?
What do you think God wants for this church?

As you share your answers to those questions and begin to see whether they are the same or different, and whether there is a common theme among everyone’s answers to those questions, the will of God for this place may begin to emerge more clearly. God’s will is always discerned in community, never by a single individual. So prepare yourselves. Get ready to wrestle with the angel, as Jacob did, and to be changed by it.