One of the things we wanted to do during this month of emphasis on stewardship is to take a Sunday to say thank you to God for Clarence Kunstmann and his gift of time and talent as the treasurer of the church for almost this whole century, and to say thanks as well for the many other ways that he and Betty give their time and talent to the work of God through St Peter’s. Clarence and Betty are planning to celebrate his impending freedom this week by going on that trip to Chincoteague that we gave them a while back. So Betty and Clarence, we wish you safe travels.
Clarence isn’t done being the treasurer yet. The plan at this point is for him to continue with his current responsibilities for the rest of this year as Eunice shadows him. When Eunice takes over in January, Clarence will be available to her to help her out as long as she needs that help. So, Clarence, you’ve got more to do, but pretty soon, you’re going to have a little more discretionary time in your life.
So there will be more celebrating, but we wanted to show our gratitude today for all you have done for us.
Clarence took over the treasurer’s position when the church found itself in a financial crisis.
Although it’s painful to talk about, the disagreements over human sexuality back at the beginning of the century brought to light some deep fissures in the church—differing theologies, and differing interpretations of scripture divided Christians. Those days were truly horrible—people of faith who could not agree with one another became divided and churches broke apart. I don’t need to talk about everything that happened in our own church and in this Diocese during those days.
This congregation had its differences and it broke too. But the time came to start rebuilding. Financial resources had to be found and a bare bones budget put together. And this congregation did that. Clarence shepherded us through that process, and for helping us rebuild our budget and actually set aside some money over the years for as Clarence says, “a rainy day” down the road.
Clarence, in addition to your knowledge, your ability with numbers, and your careful financial management, you have another gift—and that was the gift needed more than anything at the time you became treasurer, and the gift that we all continue to need as we work together as the Body of Christ. You have the gift of healing—and it manifests itself in the way you listen to others, make space for differences, come up with compromises and do it all so gracefully. You have made the space for this congregation to do the work to heal financially, but also to heal in the ways we relate to one another.
I came to St Peter’s straight out of seminary. I want to thank all of you for taking a chance on me. All of you have been my teachers. I’ve learned so much and grown so much in the time we’ve had together.
Clarence, you’ve been my teacher regarding all things financial. I apologize for being a slow learner. Money and figures are not my gift. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve said thank you to God for my teacher Clarence, because I know that his integrity is unassailable, his judgement is wise, his patience with me has been limitless, and his willingness to listen and to let me ask questions never runs out. And I know that we can disagree with one another and still walk in love as Christ loved us.
From my perspective, we’ve have grown into a church that doesn’t gloss over the many differences in the ways we know God, interpret scripture, and think theologically. Those of you who serve on the Vestry know that we don’t gloss over the differences in the ways that we think about money either. We’ve come to see that those differences make us stronger rather than tearing us apart, and that the Holy Spirit works in the tension. All of us have had a part in this growth. And the financial commitment that each one of us has made to St Peter’s has then made it possible for Clarence to do the fine work he has done.
So for you, Clarence, and Betty, for all your support as he’s done this work, we give thanks to God for your care with the money that we’ve given to St Peter’s for God’s work in the world through this church.
Now, I’d like to welcome Mike Kerr, who has come all the way to Port Royal to share in our thanksgiving to God for Clarence. Mike served as the treasurer of the Diocese for many years. He has an amazing ability to make Diocesan budget reports entertaining and understandable. Now he is the CEO of the Trustees of the Funds for the Diocese. So Mike, we are very honored to have you here with us today.