Sermon Preview November 15th November 11, 2026 Ru-Lee Weller Passman November 15, 2026 Preacher: Rev. Anne J. Scalfaro Sermon Title: Abundance Becoming the Beloved Community Series Sermon Blurb: Get excited! This Sunday is Calvary’s 145th Anniversary! It’s also Commitment Sunday, when we celebrate all of us who are Sustaining Stewards—supporting the ministries we all love about Calvary with our financial gifts. It is fitting, then, that the quality of the Beloved Community we are exploring is Abundance. Using our scriptures as our foundation for understanding a theology of abundance (instead of scarcity), we’ll explore what it means to shift our hearts toward an assurance that we have “enough.” Then, we’ll turn to our own church’s story, reviewing Glimpses of Abundance in Calvary’s 145 year history that remind us we have come through difficult financial seasons in our past and that God has provided through the generosity of countless Calvary members to lead us to where we are today. Following the sermon, we’ll create our own “here and now glimpse of abundance” in Calvary’s history, by walking forward to dedicate our Sustaining Steward gifts for 2027. Through the gifts we give, God can do more through Calvary’s ministries than we could ever ask or imagine…today and for generations to come. Centering: Centering Quote: “Scarcity Mindset believes that resources—like time, money, safety, influence, or belonging—are limited. It shows up as hoarding power, overworking, perfectionism, or gatekeeping. Abundance Mindset believes there’s enough for everyone. It fuels collaboration, trust, rest, mutual aid, and expansive visions of justice…I’m not saying abundance is easy. Abundance isn't toxic positivity. It can feel countercultural—especially when you're trying to build equity inside systems designed for extraction. But it is possible. And it's powerful. Abundance is not wishful thinking. It’s a discipline. It’s how we choose to lead, relate, and reimagine what’s possible—together.” - Dee Rolffs Scriptures Psalm 23:5 5 You prepare a table before us even in our fear of scarcity; you anoint our heads with oil; our cup overflows. Matthew 6:10-11 10 May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He scatters abroad; he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us, 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your partnership with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! Benediction Scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. —————— Series Blurb: (longer description on website) Becoming the Beloved Community – Our Focus for 2026-2027 This year we’re grounding ourselves in the theological conviction that all persons are beloved children of God—and as we live out our belovedness, together we come closer to becoming the “Beloved Community” that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned, where all people are honored, cared for, and treated as equals. The word Becoming embodies both what we already are and what God is yet creating us to be. We ourselves are “in process”—and as a community, the vision of the Beloved Community is something we will never quite actualize here on earth even as we strive to embody it more and more each day. The word Beloved is also important. As Pastor Anne says, Calvary is a place where people come to be, be love and to be loved, and as we engage those three practices we grow as a beloved community. For this series each week from Gathering Sunday through Pentecost, we’ll explore a different quality of the Beloved Community—qualities that stand alone, yet also build on one another, deepening our sense of what it means to be God’s beloved and shaping our sense of who we want to become as individuals, as Calvary, and as global citizens.