It is well past the time that I intended to bring you an update on my health situation. So please allow me to take a few mo-ments here to fill you in...

I completed my radiation therapy and the second round of chemotherapy in early October. At the end of October I had a CT Scan to determine how the treatment thus far had worked and to lay the ground work for how we will proceed. Shortly Kit and I will travel to the M. D. Anderson Center in Houston, Texas, to consult about possible additional treatment.
The good news is that I am recover-ing well. I have had little nausea and I have been able to eat well. My right arm is still swollen because of the blood clots lodged in my upper arm. Time may take care of this side-effect.

In the midst of my struggle with this cancer I have discovered a number of you who have walked this path before me. As you tell me your story I realize the great courage you have exhibited in the face of this disease. And your witness has strengthened my resolve to continue the journey, even on those days when I find myself depressed and wondering why I am doing this hard work.

Likewise, both Kit and I have been blessed by your prayers, your cards, your personal words of encouragement, and your friendship. You have no idea how important these gifts have been to is as the journey goes forward, for to know our-selves surrounded by your love strengthens our resolve to continue the work of healing, even when it feels to no avail. Thank you.

A new subject: This is the time of year when many of our congregations be-gin to think about raising money for oper-ating budgets in the next year. It has been my experience as your Bishop that many of our congregations are content to “just get by” when it comes to asking us for our fi-nancial support. Likewise, a large number of us choose to make no pledge to our congregation, and too many of us treat our giv-ing to support the work of our faith com-munity much as we think of dues paid to the country club, the Rotary Club, or some other worthy organization.

Let me suggest that there is a better way to think about our giving to God for the continuation and extension of God‟s work in the world. It begins with the ques-tion: what can I afford not to give to God for my soul‟s health? In other words, my giving to God has to do with my need to honor God, not God‟s need to have me give. It is my opportunity to give thanks to the one who has blessed me with every-thing, I repeat, everything that I have in this life. Therefore, my giving is a meas-ure of my thankfulness for the gifts with which I have been blessed and my trust that God will continue to bless and support me as my journey moves forward.

When I sit down to make a written commitment to my faith community using the meas-ure of my soul‟s health, I arrive at a far different conclusion as to what I can return to God in thanks for the blessings of this life than if I had used the gauge of “my fair share” or “what the congregation needs to keep the doors open.” Indeed, my generosity (or lack thereof) says far more about me than it does about God.

So, dear friends, when you sit down to make a commitment to your faith com-munity for its operation next year I hope for you three things. First, I hope you make your offering as a gift of thanks for God‟s blessing in your life. Second, I hope you make your gift a fixed percentage of the money with which God has blessed you to live on. And third, I hope that in placing your trust in God‟s continuing love you will discover the abundance of his grace, mercy, and blessing that comes to all God‟s children as the journey goes for-ward.

Peace and Blessing - HBB