Water into Wine

John 2:1-8

Jesus miracle of turning water into wine is one of the best know of all his miracles. In John’s gospel we read that it was important for two reasons:

• It was Jesus’ first miracle, and the event that caused his disciples to first put their trust in him;

• It was a sign of things to come. He wasn’t simply helping out in a difficult situation; rather, he was using this miracle to make a point about how we can be changed too.

The experience of running out of wine must have been very difficult and embarrassing for those who organised the wedding banquet. Even in our own culture people put an enormous amount of effort into planning a wedding and the reception.

When I talk to couples who are getting married, I often wonder where they manage to find the time and energy to plan everything in such great detail.

Hospitality was valued even more highly in the culture where Jesus lived, …and the thought of running out of wine would have been quite shocking. The sort of thing that would have been talked about for years to come.

Take a moment to think about how the organisers must have felt. I wonder when they first realised that the wine was going to run out. At first they might have been surprised at the rate of consumption, but hoped that they would still have enough. As the celebrations continued they probably instructed the servants to cutback the size of measures. But eventually they reached the point they were dreading, and the last drop of wine was gone.

The news reached Mary, and she told Jesus. The servants were told to do anything that he asked, and so the stage was now set for Jesus to work his first miracle.

Not only did he change water into wine, but he also changed those involved. The pain of the organisers was turned to joy, and the faith of his disciples was changed too (v11). But this wouldn’t have happened if the wine had not run out.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in a letter to everyone on our mailing list about the financial crisis facing the Church of England. Bishop Colin had recently called a meeting for all the clergy in our Diocese, where the extent of this crisis was spelt out. For years the Church of England has not been paying its way, and we have been spending more money than we have been raising.

At one time the Church of England had huge financial reserves, but for many years they have steadily been eaten away, …and these historical reserves have been used to subsidise the cost of current ministry. Of course that was a situation that could not continue for ever, …and we have now reached the point where no further subsidy is possible.

The wine has run out, …and we look to Jesus for a financial miracle.

For many of you this comes as no great surprise. The financial crisis in the Church of England has been talked about for several years, …but there is a tendency in most of us to bury our heads in the sand, or to blame someone else. We see exactly the same things happening with the crisis of global warming, …people talking about it, but not wanting to do much about it, …and hoping that the problem might go away.

Well the Church of England’s problem hasn’t gone away. In recent years it has taken some action, (for example by cutting the number of clergy in rural parishes), and implementing other cost savings. This action has already been very painful for many churches, but it hasn’t been drastic enough. Despite these efforts, the subsidy from historical reserves has still dried up, …the wine has run out.

This morning I want to answer some of the questions that you may have about this crisis.

Does the Church of England have any money left?

Yes, the central Church of England still owns some land and other investments. But the income from these investments is paying the pensions of retired clergy. With people living longer, and the cutback in numbers of paid clergy, there are now more retired clergy than paid ones! So that’s where the central funds are going.

Coventry Diocese also has some small investments, (but these too have been eaten away over the years). Under the new proposal from the Bishops Council, this will be used to pay central diocesan costs, (such as the training of curates).

This means that there is no money left to subsidise parish clergy, ...and hence the proposal that each parish must pay its own way.

What happens if a parish does not pay its own way?

Well there are two answers to that question.

Everyone recognises that there are some parishes in very poor areas that may never pay their way. Often the Church of England is the only church left in such parishes, …all the other denominations pulled out years ago, because they couldn’t afford to maintain a presence there. Ironically, it is these areas that are in most need of a full-time Vicar. And so it is proposed that rich parishes be asked to support the cost of ministry in the poorest ones.

However, this will be the exception rather than the rule.

For parishes like ourselves, if we don’t pay our own way, then we will no longer have a full-time Vicar. We would have to find another parish in a similar situation with which we could share a Vicar, and thus share the cost.

And if none of our neighbouring parishes were in this situation, we could end up sharing a Vicar who lived some miles away.

So how much does it cost to pay our own way?

The diocese tell us that each full-time Vicar costs them about £712 per week, (that’s about £37,000 per year), ...and that’s how much we need to raise in order to pay our own way.

Some people have been surprised at this cost, not leaset me because I only get paid about half that amount! …but this is how the diocese have arrived at that figure of £712 per week:

£374 - is my pay, (although strictly speaking it’s not pay but a living allowance, or stipend)

£ 21 - National Insurance contributions

£110 - Pension Contributions, (central Church of England funds are paying existing clergy pensions, but not future pensions)

£ 98 - Housing Costs, (both maintenance and Council Tax)

£109 - Ministry support and training, (central diocesan costs that are directly linked to supporting parish clergy)

That’s how they get £712 per week. It’s a lot of money, but the good news is that we are already 80% of the way there! Last year you gave £568 per week in Planned Giving, (via the weekly white envelopes, or monthly planned giving).

The PCC have decided that the target for our Gift Day this year should be go for the extra 20%, …which means that we need to increase our Planned Giving by £144 per week.

Is the Diocese asking us to pay our way this year?

No. …but this year we are being asked to pay over 90% of our way. In order to achieve this we need to raise an extra £90 per week. This is our first target, and one that we must achieve.

However our PCC has encouraged me to be bold, and aim for the larger target of an extra £144 per week.

It would be a great achievement if we were able to raise enough money to pay our own way. It’s something that only a few churches are currently doing, …and something that our own church has never achieved before.

If we want to keep a full-time Vicar then we’ll probably have to pay our own way sooner or later. The target is to raise enough money to do that now.

What am I inviting you to do?

If you are on our mailing list, you should already have received a letter about our Gift Day. If you’re not, please pick up an Information Pack, at back of church.

Most of you here are already part of our Planned Giving. That means that you already support our church via weekly envelopes or monthly standing order. Thank you for being part of that. Your giving has been the backbone of our church finances, and has helped us get to our current position of paying 80% of our own way.

But I’m asking you to help us raise the extra money needed to pay all of our way. In your pack there is a reply slip in which you can pledge an extra amount each week. Please bring this to church next Saturday between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, or post it to the Vicarage any time before then.

For those of you who are not yet part of our Planned Giving, can I please encourage you to do so? We are very grateful for any money that you put on the collection plate, …but it is even more helpful if you use the weekly envelopes.

The idea is that you put the same offering in an envelope each week, and then put these envelopes on the collection plate whenever you come to church.

If you are willing to do that, could you also return your reply slip next Saturday, (or before then)?

I don’t find out who gives what, only our Planned Giving Secretary and Church Treasurer knows that. However, I will know the total amount that has been pledged.

Remember how I said that the wine has run out, …and we look to Jesus for a financial miracle. Well I’m inviting you to be part of that miracle.

Jesus didn’t turn water into wine on his own, the servants at the banquet had to play their part in filling the jars with water.

And it wasn’t just the water that was changed, …they were changed too.

Mary said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

You and I are also servants of Jesus, so let us listen carefully to him, and do whatever he tells us.