From a young age, most of us are taught that there is not enough to go around. We learn to see scarcity and live with fear. We learn to compete with others and fight over limited jobs and resources. Out of this lesson of fear and anxiety, we are taught to keep the good things we have to ourselves.

It is time to reject this lie robbing us of our humanity. It is not scarcity, but abundance and generosity that are the true nature of the universe. There really is enough to go around. There really is abundance on Earth. We can see it in the natural world through the extraordinary cooperation and beautiful co-existence of all plants and creatures on Earth. We can see it in families and communities that love and care for one another. And we can see it right here at Peoples Church.

As a community we choose abundance, buck cultural norms and live into generosity as a spiritual practice. I know it is not easy. It is counter-cultural and radical. But it is essential to our well-being: choosing abundance over scarcity moves us from fear to love.

We will be practicing this move all month long at Peoples Church through the theme of Generosity. Of course it is no accident that this theme coincides with our annual stewardship campaign; generosity and stewardship go hand in hand (see pg. 6 for a Stewardship Campaign update). Being generous with our time, love, and financial resources is a key element of spirituality and practice of being a member of Peoples Church. Plus this is the year we are renewing our mission! As we launch a new mission for our church we will need the resources to support it and the commitment from everyone to live it out.

So don’t let fear or anxiety rule your life this year- let love in and let yourself experience abundance and radical generosity. You will receive from it nothing less than the liberation of your own soul.

In Peace,
Rev. Rebecca Hinds