YEAR’S END

In the social circles that I occupy, my colleagues are all too eager to poke fun at me about being from “the wealthy church” because we are located in Bethesda.

Did you know that Bethesda is #20 on the list of the 25 wealthiest cities in the country? Our average median household income is $164,142 per year.

That’s remarkable!

But my colleagues also forget that churches often operate in contrast to a city’s economic trends. So when they poke fun at me, I always respond with, “Church In Bethesda is as broke as your church is, but we are filthy rich when it comes to having good people." 

And I mean that.

  • Yes, we still have an old leaky roof that we can’t afford to fix.

  • Yes, we still have exterior doors with holes in them.

  • Yes, we still have windows that are so old that the glass looks like wax paper.

  • And yes, we still have our 80 year-old demon-possessed boiler in the sub basement that needs frequent exorcisms.

We have all the scrapes and cuts and bruises and problems that every other church has but that doesn’t stop us. 

We keep doing good work anyway because we truly believe in a God that loves people as they are— not as they think they should be.

We are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, pushing back on gun-violence, marrying people who love each other (regardless of their gender), caring for the sick, giving the microphone to the voiceless, and championing every kind of diversity in a world that still tells women and people of color to sit down and shut up.

Wherever the timeless, progressive message of Jesus is at work in the world, we are there, loving God and our neighbors so completely that it makes for a little bit of heaven here on the Earth.

As you close out this calendar year, if what I mentioned above resonates with you and you want to be a part of supporting something like that, we welcome your support. I invite you to be as generous as you are able so that we can head into 2023 without any limits (other than those that God has ordained).

You are awesome for reading this far. Thank you for considering.