In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God is one. Amen.

This Sunday of the Forefeast of the Annunciation is a rather special Sunday for us here at St Aidan’s. We celebrate both the announcement to Holy Mary that Jesus Christ would soon be coming into her womb, and into the world, as well as our very own Thanksgiving Sunday. After praying for the last few weeks, the time has now come to decide what part or percentage of our income we wish to give to the worship and work of our church during the coming year.

Notice that we are not praying about precisely what amount of our income we should give, but rather about what percentage of our income is right for us. The Biblical guideline is to give 10 per cent—a tithe. However, that might be too much for those with low incomes or too little for others on a higher income. Only God can tell you what is His will. God can communicate with each of us in many different ways. We don’t need to hear a voice or experience a vision to know what percentage of our income is right for us. There will be a sense of calmness and peace that a particular choice is right for each of us. My own experience here at St Aidan’s is that what I give is often much higher after prayer than before prayer. That, no doubt, is a sign that God knows what our church needs far better than I do.

As we all know, St Aidan’s does not have jumble sales or talk about money on any other Sunday in the year. At our parish council meetings, to which everyone is invited, there are reports about precisely what money has been spent for what purposes. For nine years now I have served at St Aidan’s as a sub-deacon, a deacon and a priest. I have found here a transparency—an openness about the finances of the church—that is rather lovely. Questions are always welcome; sensible answers are always given. Therefore, it is right that we should move forward together to whatever plans the Lord has for the church and for our families and for each of our lives. For the church, the plans will depend in large part on the resources available, as determined by our giving.

Here in Britain, we do not receive any money from the government or from the archdiocese. We do have a greater challenge this year at St Aidan’s, because some people have moved away from Manchester, or their circumstances have changed. We will adjust the budget in the light of what is pledged on this Thanksgiving Sunday. Do remember that your pledge today is to give to God’s work week by week or month by month, not just when you actually come to church.

St Paul has written in Second Corinthians, chapter 9, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” In other words, if we scatter only a few seeds we will not have much of a harvest. However, if we sow many seeds, the harvest will be great. The “seeds” to which St Paul refers are our gifts to the poor and our gifts to the Lord. As St Paul writes, “Each one [chooses] in the heart [what to give to God and to those in need]. And God is able to provide [each of us] with every blessing in abundance, so that [we] may always have enough of everything and may [in turn] provide in abundance for every good work,” concludes St Paul. In other words, the more we give to God and to others, the more that God will give to us.

So now, we share together the Divine Liturgy; and then we decide freely in our hearts what we wish to give to St Aidan’s in this coming year. Both the choices and the rewards are ours. St John Chrysostom urges us to give not only for the benefit of the needy but also for [our own] benefit as providers [of gifts].” Surprisingly, St John insists that the choices we make now about how much to give are more important for us than for those in need [Homily 10.4.16: A Sermon on Almsgiving].

St Paul reminds us that “God loves a cheerful giver.” A third-century Bishop of Turin, Maximus, concludes; and I conclude: “Blessed, then, is almsgiving, which both renews the recipient and rejoices the giver . . . and for this reason it is better to give . . . first; [and then be] joyful” [Sermon 71 on Fasting and Almsgiving]. So, let us give today to Christ’s Church and our church, as we move ahead joyfully in the Lord’s plans for St Aidan’s and for each of our lives.

Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, One in essence and undivided. Amen.   

Father Emmanuel Kahn