Sunday was our Pledge Ingathering Day, and for the first time (since I've been there) we invited folks to come to the front of the church and place their pledge cards on the altar. I wrote about wanting to do this here.
I had already put my card on the altar a month ago, when the Stewardship Team was commissioned. So I was not going down for that. However, I HAD been down to the altar immediately before, when the Lay Eucharistic Visitors were officially commissioned. I heard the invitation from Father David for people to bring their cards up, and I was climbing back up to the choir loft for part of it.
So it was well under way when I stepped back into the loft...and the image absolutely took my breath away. People walking up, laying their cards on the altar, coming back down. Slightly awkward, stepping aside to give each other access, smiles.
From up high, it looked like many individual grains of wheat pouring up to the altar, and then back down. Streams of blessing...
The scripture that came to mind was Luke 6:38:
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Next it was time to sing the anthem, which I found difficult as I was still all verklempt.
