June 20, 2025
Roller Coasters
My oldest brother Don and I had—maybe still have—a love of roller coasters. Of course, we enjoyed the roller coasters and other rides at the carnivals that came through our town. But it was the at-most-once-a-summer trip to Crystal Beach, Ontario, on the Canadian shores of Lake Erie for its famous roller coasters that we loved. They arguably had the best trio of coasters at the time, or so I read in preparation for this piece. The Comet, The Wild Mouse, and the infamous Cyclone were a hat trick of coasters that was hard to match anywhere in the world. While we swam and picnicked on the beach when we arrived in late morning, the afternoon was all about the rides. Stories of these three rides were legend, and not for the weak of heart. Nevertheless, they were for Don and me, along with the other rides, an afternoon of great fun.
Roller coasters came to mind when I recently saw economic graphs of the first five months of 2025. There are steep climbs and steeper drops, twists and turns that you often come upon blindly. You get whiplash from the quick back and forth, and vertigo from the size of the vertical change, often over a very short time. But this ride is no amusement. It is now, literally, the ride of our lives. The uncertainty of the economy is not merely an abstract reality or subjective feeling. It speaks of the unstable ground on which we stand economically. For those on fixed incomes and those retired and living off savings, fluctuations in prices and in market values can have real life consequences. And for many working women and men, from social services to technology to finance, job reductions have been a reality. My prior homeland, academics, has not been spared either, so this hits close to home with many close friends affected.
The fact is within our congregation we have some who have necessarily—and successfully—transitioned to new jobs, while others are in transition uncertain of what will come next. I mention this as we approach our church business meeting this Sunday. We are a very fortunate congregation because we are both generous in our giving and are wise stewards of our resources. In particular, the Summit building supplies our ministries with vital income. However, the roller coaster of our economy could significantly affect both our parking revenue and our giving.
As we transition from the end of one fiscal year to the beginning of another on September 1, let us all consider how well we steward what God has given us. For some it may require giving less because our income has receded and our needs have not. While others of us may be less affected. Might some of us be able to increase our giving to offset what others are not able to give in this season? Or maybe this is the season when you simply increase your giving because the Spirit is leading you to do so.
On the one hand, this roller coaster analogy should remind us to put on our seatbelts as we could be in for a rough ride. On the other hand, it should remind us that we as a church are all in this together. From the front car to the last car, this is a ride we take together, though we all may experience it differently. Thank you for considering how you might ease the stress of this fiscal roller coaster on First Covenant by prayerfully reconsidering your financial contributions to our church and its ministries.
With confidence in Christ,
~ Pastor Todd