EDYTHE:  (To herself.) These numbers are really confusing. I can’t tell how much I owe.

            (ANGEL enters.)

ANGEL:  Hello, Edythe.

EDYTHE:  My guardian angel! You’ll be proud of me this year. I’m going to pay my way. Can you help me figure out what it is?

ANGEL:  I’d be happy to. What do you have?

EDYTHE:  I haven’t gotten anywhere. I wish I knew the parish budget for next year. Last year’s numbers don’t really work, we were in such an unusual financial state.

ANGEL:  No, forget the budget. The budget doesn’t matter. What do you have?

EDYTHE:  I can tell you’re an other-worldly being. But I want to be practical this year. It costs money to run a church. I’m a full member, and I want to pay my way.

ANGEL:  We’re not talking about the yacht club, Edythe. Now, how much do you have?

EDYTHE:  You’re no help. Go away.

            (ANGEL exits.)

            (BETSY the Canvasser enters, carrying an empty plate.)

BETSY:  (Knocking.) Hi, Edie?

EDYTHE:  Hi Betsy, come on in and take a chair. Help me figure this out.

BETSY:  Okay. Here’s your plate back. The ‘Good News’ kids loved your pumpkin cookies.

EDYTHE:  Oh, good.

BETSY:  Whatcha figuring?

EDYTHE:  How much it costs to be a member of St. Paul’s. That’ll be my pledge this year.

BETSY:  How much it costs? No, that’s not how we do it.

EDYTHE:  I know, I read the letter. But this is how I’m doing it this year. Come on, Betsy. Just help me with my logic here. Last year, our total budget for salaries, utilities, property, and program was about $140,000. I guess I’ll go by that figure because it’s the best we have. Now, what’s the total membership?

BETSY:  Around 200, I guess.

EDYTHE:  Okay. Two hundred into $140,000 makes, umm, $700. That seems reasonable enough.

BETSY:  Wait a minute. I shouldn’t let you suck me into this, but, if you have to do it this way, you ought to be clear about what you’re doing.

EDYTHE:  Good. I want to be clear.

BETSY:  That membership number includes families and children. Are you saying that a family of four owes St. Paul’s four times what you do?

EDYTHE:  No. That doesn’t make sense. Okay, so I’ll divide by the number of families. What’s that?

BETSY:  I don’t know offhand. How about the number of pledges? Last year, that was about 90.

EDYTHE:  Hmmm. That makes a very different equation. Does every family pledge?

BETSY:  No. Some don’t pledge and still give quite generously. Others never pledge and give little or no money.

EDYTHE:  Gee, Betsy, this is hard to figure out. Okay. Well. I’m going to make the divider 100. That seems fairly accurate for total households, and it’s easy to divide. So that comes to $1,400.

BETSY:  One other thing, Edie. I noticed that you didn’t include the diocesan assessment in your budget figure. Next year our diocesan assessment will be about $30,000.

EDYTHE:  Yeah. Well, to be honest, I’m feeling kind of stubborn about that. I love St. Paul’s, but I don’t feel the same way about the larger church. That’s a lot of money to send up the pipe.

BETSY:  Yes, it is. And I know the church has its problems. The church is made up of human beings, and they don’t always get it right. We don’t always get it right here at the parish level, either.

EDYTHE:  True.

BETSY:  But St. Paul’s is a parish, not a mission. That means we’re self-supporting, and that includes the larger church. We make our contribution like any other full member of the family. In that sense, we are the larger church, just as much as the richest parish in the biggest city.

EDYTHE:  Hmmmm. Okay, I get it. If I want to pay my way at St. Paul’s, the diocese is part of the ticket. So that brings my total pledge, to … ummm … $1,700. Gulp.

BETSY:  Let’s divide it into monthly and weekly payments, then see what it looks like. (Figuring.) It comes to $142 a month, or $33 a week. Now, can you afford $33 a week, Edie?

EDYTHE:  I guess so.

BETSY:  Will you have to give anything up to pay it? I mean, travel less this year, or eat out less often, or –

EDYTHE:  No. Yes. I mean, if I kept that money, I’m sure I’d spend it very happily. But you don’t need to worry about me. It’s a lot, more than I give any other organization. But I can afford this.

BETSY:  Well, I’m asking, because I know other members of the parish couldn’t say the same. Some would have to make hard choices in order to pay that pledge.

EDYTHE:  I suppose that’s true.

BETSY:  And some won’t give that much to the parish, whether they can afford to or not. But we’re all still members, right? We want a parish where everyone is welcome, because we all bless each other, and we find God’s blessing in the whole body of Christ, not just the ones who pay a certain amount.

EDYTHE:  Absolutely. I believe that with my whole heart.

BETSY:  So that’s why we don’t recommend doing it this way. Do you really think membership at St. Paul’s means paying for yourself alone?

EDYTHE:  It sounded good at first.

BETSY:   Instead of looking at what you owe, think about looking at what you have.

EDYTHE:  What?

BETSY:  After all, Edie, this is not the yacht club. Now, do you want to give me your pledge today?

EDYTHE:  No, I guess not. I guess I have to think about it some more.

BETSY:  Okey-dokey. You can drop it off at the church, or bring it on Ingathering Sunday. Okay?

EDYTHE:  Sure, Betsy.

BETSY:  See you Sunday.

EDYTHE:  See you Sunday.

            (BETSY exits.)

            (ANGEL enters.)

Hello again. You don’t have to tell me, I get it. This is not the yacht club.

ANGEL:  (Kisses EDYTHE on her forehead.) Under Christ’s direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy, growing, and full of love.

            (ANGEL turns and addresses the audience, leaving EDYTHE working on her pledge.)

So Edythe thus chose what to do

For her pledge in year number two.

What will she do in year three?

We’ll return in a bit and you’ll see.