Revealing The Kingdom of Heaven: The 2021 FaithWorks Appeal

 

Preached at All Saints, King City, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, 21 November, 2021, The Reign of Christ.

Readings for this Sunday:  2 Sam 23:1-7; Ps 132:1-13; Rev 1:4b-8; Jn 18:33-37.

Where is the Kingdom of Heaven found?

When telling parables, Jesus often begins them with the phrase, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like ….”.    In these parables, Jesus tries to use ordinary images and simple stories to describe an alternate reality, something beyond the world his audience knows, where values, actions, and results are different from the realities of everyday life.  Think of the Kingdom of Heaven as a gospel reality, what the world would can look like when we as disciples of Jesus put our faith into action.

Today in the life of the church is called The Reign of Christ, the last Sunday before the new ecclesiastical year that always begins with Advent.    Our readings and prayers remind us that Jesus, that wandering and homeless teacher from Galilee, is the Son of God, the Word that was with God before all things, the Alpha and Omega of Revelation who is outside of time and yet who comes to every generation in our time to live and walk and comfort us.   

Today we remember who rules the Kingdom of Heaven, and who calls us to be his subjects.

What a fitting Sunday for our Diocese of Toronto to choose as FaithWorks Sunday.   FaithWorks is the charitable work of the Diocese and its congregations that for twenty five years has supported agencies that make the Kingdom of Heaven visible and real in our communities.   The two words, Faith and Works, together remind us that our belief put into action brings the Kingdom of Heaven closer to earth.

Today we will watch a short video that describes FaithWorks from a high up perspective.   

Next, a short video that takes us to street level and describes the work of one particular FaithWorks supported agency, Samaritan House in my own town ofBarrie.   I’ve chosen to focus on Samaritan House because my wife is a board member and through her work its how I’ve come to understand how FaithWorks funding does God’s work in a community.

Imagine that you and your children experience physical and verbal domestic abuse, so your home is no longer safe.    You may have no control over your finances, no income, few life skills, and no resources.   Where do you go?  Samaritan House’s Executive Director, Kerry Ploughman, explains how her agency helps victims of domestic abuse and violence find their feet in a safe environment so they can rebuild their lives.

How can All Saints help the work of Samaritan House and other agencies supported by FaithWorks?

This year the Diocese has challenged us to meet a target goal of $3800 in a campaign that ends on  New Year’s Eve.  That number is up from last year, and the increase is based on 1% of our envelope offerings from last year.

The good news is that All Saints has already raised $2,551.50 towards this goal, meaning that we only need to raise $1300 by the end of December to reach our goal.    With 73 families that donate to All Saints, we could reach that target easily if every family gave $20.  Of course, we could always give more.

Joy and I have written our own cheque for FaithWorks and put it in this Sunday’s offering.   I’m challenging each of you to write a cheque for FaithWorks for whatever you can manage and feel called to, before the end of this year.   We’ll update the congregation regularly with our progress.

If you’re reading this message in the King newspaper, you can always join us by sending your support to All Saints,12935 Keele St, King City, ON, L7B 1G2, or by calling our parish office at 905-833-5432.

Please contribute to this year’s FaithWorks campaign, and answer Jesus’ call to help make the Kingdom of Heaven visible on earth.