Before I begin, I think it would be remiss not to recognize the wisdom and brilliance of the four other women who have preceded me in this by answering the call to share thoughts about pledging to Emmanuel Church in the recent weeks of Stewardship. I’ve been inspired to hear from each of them, and it must be noted that (to my mind anyway) each of them has intricately built upon the work of the others with a through-line and a continuity, with every individual part contributing to a whole that is even greater than the sum of its parts. The overall effect has been beautiful, touching, and as profound for all of you, I hope, as it has been for me. With that, I will frankly admit that it was a very poor strategic decision on my part to volunteer to go last. Seriously, how does one follow that? So let me just say you might want to level-set your expectations right now.
So, why am I standing here, and what is it that I have to say? When I was asked to do this, as with everything at Emmanuel Church, my reaction was, “Who, me?”; but, here I am. I’m a bit shy, so by way of introduction for those whom I have not met, my name is Jenn, and I am married to our Senior Warden Liz. I belong to Emmanuel Church and have belonged to Emmanuel Church for a little bit over seven years. Belong is not a word that I have chosen lightly here. My formative years were spent in a family straddling the poverty line in what I like to refer to as “the buckle” of the Bible Belt, below the Mason-Dixon Line. Coming of age in the buckle there was very little diversity of thought, of religious belief, of what constituted acceptable in the eyes of God. This experience definitely skewed for decades my understanding of what it meant to belong in church.
To those listening in the pews clear delineations were made between those that belong to the Kingdom of Heaven and those that do not belong. It was very clear in which camp I belonged That my damnation would be eternal was made clear to me time and time again. To be fair, though, I found myself in some pretty good company. Pretty much everyone belonged in that camp. My most entertaining recollection of this period was the claim made one Sunday that Barry Manilow–with his overtly-sinful, lyrical stylings–was definitely unsaved and probably unsavable, just like me.
My coming of age with scarce resources has translated to a life spent carefully pondering money and how best to use it. In adulthood, I am keenly aware of the privilege I have to make ethical decisions in how I earn that money and to make skillful choices in how I share it. My life experience also leaves me with an awareness that discussions of money can feel clumsy. So, while I have been moved over these weeks by Karen, Carolyn, Mary, and Lisa, and in years past by many others who have stood here, I understand that it can still feel awkward to be asked. There can be a hesitation to pledge or to pledge what you are capable of sharing, perhaps because you don’t like to have a transactional relationship with your church. Perhaps because we are living through times of uncertainty (inflation and financial instability can affect us all), you remain uncertain even though you feel that on the whole Emmanuel Church is doing good work. A full range of reactions is understandable.
Liz and I, however, enthusiastically pledge to Emmanuel Church and will continue to do so. I’d like to give you an analogy of how I think about that. I like to think about it as the highly-coveted, fancy Play-Doh Fun Factory of my childhood, where you put something in and turn the handle; and, what comes out is something different and amazing! So, in terms of Emmanuel Church, what happens when you make a pledge is that you turn the handle and out comes Love, spilling over in all of its various forms: whether as words of solace and wisdom from this pulpit, when you desperately need to hear them, or as resplendent music washing over you from our organist or Ryan, or as warm shelter on a cold day right down the hall. This is beyond amazing, and this is an opportunity. I invite you all to think about what your relationship to this opportunity is.
So, there have been moments in the weeks leading up to this when I have thought that I would rather be fired out of a cannon down Newbury Street than stand here in front of you to tell you why I think you should give to Emmanuel Church. Fundamentally, though, I think that you should. So here I am to tell you that Emmanuel Church’s programs, offerings, clergy, and staff are maintained and supported by those of us who belong; and all of us do.
–Jenn Poole, 6 Nov. 2022