Halloween is just around the corner.  I live in a neighborhood where, traditionally, we get a large number of Trick or Treat visitors.  Now, I’m not one of those overly industrious people who decorate their house for Halloween or create a trick for the children to experience when they come for their visit.  I am, however, one who feels that if the kids are going to go to all the trouble of getting dressed up, they should be rewarded richly with candy. And so, I purchase lots of candy for the occasion.  Like many of us, however, I tend to dip into the humongous bag of candy early just to make sure that tootsie rolls still taste like tootsie rolls.

One of my favorite candies is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, that perfect balance of peanut-butter-like-stuff on the inside and cheap chocolate on the outside.  The blending of those two food-like-substances makes for a near perfect confectionary experience. And while one without the other is pretty good, it is the blending of the two that leads to sheer candy joy.

Our Stewardship Campaign, like Halloween, is just around the corner as well.  This year, our theme is: Rejoice and Give Thanks. In many ways, our lives of faith are analogous to the delectable Reese’s Cup.  A blending of gratitude (rejoice) and generosity (giving thanks) is the secret sauce for joy in our lives. Gratitude is a recognition of how, despite all the toils and tribulations of our lives, we are so very blessed.  Generosity, in turn, is a natural outpouring of gratitude. As gratitude and generosity dance together in our lives, joy is the result. That’s how it’s supposed to work. 

Actually, that is how it does work as I have seen that beautiful dance in the lives of so many of you. That is what has sustained the parish of St. John in the Wilderness for all these many years. That is what has sustained the parish of St. John in the Wilderness throughout the pandemic. And that is what I hope will continue to sustain the parish of St. John in the Wilderness as we make our way through the last few miles of pandemic.  Gratitude and generosity will see us the rest of the way and will lead us to a joyful life together.

In the coming weeks, you will receive more information about our Rejoice and Give Thanks pledge campaign.  Take a few minutes each day to discover gratitude in your heart.  Allow that gratitude to be transformed into generosity.  And in that special dance of gratitude and generosity, I am 100% sure that you will find joy.  It doesn’t get much better than that… except maybe a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!

~Father Art