Win Thurlow on Stewardship As I reflect on Beck’s request that I say a few words about the role of stewardship in my life, I think of a hiking trip I took with my sister Mia this past autumn.  As many of you know, the spring and summer of this last year have been particularly difficult for our family.  In the late winter, Louise was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the brain and began a nine month course of inpatient chemotherapy.  Shortly thereafter, my younger sister, Helen, died suddenly and unexpectedly of a cardiac aneurism on Mother’s Day.  At the same time, my twin sister was also mourning the end of her marriage.  After Helen’s funeral, Mia and I promised each other that we would find some time together to be alone in each other’s company.

In October, we met for an overnight weekend of hiking in the Berkshires.  As it turned out, the weather didn’t cooperate and we were rained on the entire time.  On Saturday night, we found a clearing in the woods and set up camp for the evening.  We searched as best we could to find some dry wood for a fire, but succeeded only in scrounging up some limp, damp twigs. 

That evening was given over to the task of building a fire and the seemingly futile effort of keeping it burning.  We struggled mightily and repeatedly to create a flame and maintain it.  We’d succeeded after much effort only to find the puny fire extinguished by the next raindrop.  Over and again, we built and rebuilt that fire.  Over and again it was put out by the forces of nature.

Something magical happened that evening, however. While the fire was never as big or as strong as we would have liked, we spent the entire night together nurturing its existence and in that night we found meaning in our togetherness.  Nothing had changed:  our sister had died, my wife’s future health was in doubt and my remaining sister’s marriage had ended.  Yet, through it all and despite it all, we had each other and our shared task of creating and maintaining that flame.

St. David’s may not be the place it once was.  We’re older and smaller than we used to be.  Our church school is no longer overflowing with children. And yet, through it all, we can and must continue to nurture the flame that is Christ’s call to us.  Christ tells us that when two or more are gathered in his name, he is with us.  In my view, stewardship is all about nurturing the flame, no matter the weather.  No matter the conditions.