Hi. I'm Kristin Jones and I've been asked to talk about why I give to St. Thomas'. I found the spiritual journeys of Bishop Dixon and Nancy Lee fascinating and inspiring. They changed my ideas about tithing. However, my story does not include the "T" word. My journey has been more modest.

I came to St. Thomas' when I moved to the Copley Plaza at the other end of Church Street about a quarter century ago. There was a sign on a telephone pole inviting new members to join the St. Thomas' choir; I showed up on a Sunday. Dorothea Dennison told me about the next parish event. She said, "Parish dinner, Tuesday. Bring a cantaloupe." If you knew Dorothea, you know I showed up with a cantaloupe in hand. There I learned the choir met on Thursdays. I showed up two nights later and I've been here since. At first, I had little money and lots of time. Soon, I was a regular church lady: here three days a week and serving on every other committee plus a couple of tours on the Vestry. I felt I was providing quite a bit of talent, but it still took me a while before I made a pledge.

My contributions were modest. One reality check cropped up when I had a boyfriend who liked my hands. I was getting a manicure every week until I realized the amount I paid for manicures exactly matched how much I was giving to St. Thomas'. A little rebalancing was in order.

Then I got my kids -- with huge support from the people of St. Thomas' as I went through two long, difficult adoptions. Then came the costs of full-time childcare. During those years I had the will, but not the way.

Finally, as school started and daycare costs came down, my pledging became reliable. In fact, last year I almost perfected my approach. Thanks to the prompting of the Stewardship Campaign, I shifted to Electronic Funds Transfer. No more envelopes! It is practically painless.

What's next? As I watch this parish deliberate its future, I have to stop and wonder where we are going. For many years, it has been enough, for me, to come to this wonderful place and be in the middle of this amazing community. But the Discernment Process has broadened my perspective. I have begun to see this parish as a light that perhaps is not shining as brightly in the world as it might.

We have something to share. Nancy Lee has given us a name for it: radical hospitality. It means sharing this wonderful community more broadly. It means pointing out to a larger world that we stand for inclusion, celebration of our strengths and differences, seeing every individual as special and vitally important. We stand for something that is needed in this world.

So here's what it comes down to for me. We can sit back complacently and enjoy what we have, or we can work together to share our radical hospitality with more of our neighbors, and shine our light to more of the world. That is something that is really worth our time, our talent, and our treasure.