It seems like it’s been a hundred years since we last talked about stewardship or money or fundraising here, doesn’t it? Time seems to move so slowly these days.

What? You say it was Saint Paul? And he said it a few times? Maybe not exactly in those exact words, but pretty close? Oops. My bad. Sorry Paul

Exactly four years ago – on the very Wednesday before the election – I wrote “My Silent Witness.” The 2016 presidential campaign was coming to a close and wow – it had been brutal. For six months prior to the 2016 election, I wore a necklace every day bearing words based on Micah 6:8: “Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly.”

I know that you might have had a slight reaction at seeing the word “campaign.” Believe me, I feel your pain. Please, November 3rd, come quickly. Let this be over.

This is it! The finale! The last blog post (for now) about death! Hooray! And friends, I have saved the best for last. Because some day, I just have to believe, this pandemic will be over. We will be able to see each other face-to-face or, at the very least, mask-to-mask and have workshops once again. Oh, what a day that’ll be.

OK, maybe last week I was a little too jocular thinking about death. The exclamation point in the title might be a tad too flippant. The crow photo might have been a little over the top. Especially now when I read that nearly the entire White House and everyone who had some contact with those people are coming down with COVID-19. Seriously, I was only kidding! I take death super seriously! Really!

Not to be morbid or anything like that but (I think you know where this is going…) I’ve been thinking about the end, the great beyond, pie in the sky. You know, death and dying. It’s been one of those years. No, let me re-state it: this has been one of the weirdest and darkest years ever. From COVID-19 to wildfires to chaos reigning – this is one for the books. Yes, I've been thinking about death. So there.

I will never take fresh air for granted again. It was glorious last Friday to be able to take a walk after ten long days and to take deep breaths from our smoke-free western Oregon skies.

Literally and figuratively, it’s grim. Today marks day #8 of smoky air and low visibility because of the Oregon fires. You know it’s bad when you’ve downloaded two air quality apps on your phone. You know it’s bad when you’re excited that your city has been downgraded from “if you go outside, you’ll die” to “if you go outside, maybe you’ll die.”

Whenever I have a deep, deep stewardship question (and of course, I only ask deep, deep stewardship questions), I call Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship & Generosity at Discipleship Ministries, The United Methodist Church. This is not just any Methodist church mind you, it’s The (with a capital “T”) UMC. Now in his ninth year, and after serving at the local church level for many years, Ken has heard and experienced all things stewardship. He is the man.