Using the Whole Pumpkin

One of my favorite restaurants here in Rockford comes up with a brand new dinner menu almost every weekend. They center everything— appetizers, main dishes, desserts and cocktails— around a common theme, depending on what is in season or what holidays are nearby. I’m told that this week the theme is “Eat Our Decorations,” and it came about in a moment of desperation. Simply put, the cooks in their kitchen were struggling for ideas, and as they took down all their festive Halloween decor, inspiration struck. All those pumpkins, gourds, and squash— every edible bit of decor is getting a second life this weekend as soups, pies, and other dishes. While I am sure they will be supplementing with additional veggies from traditional sources, there is something marvelous about how clever this little restaurant is with the resources they have.

That sort of cleverness can carry us further than we can imagine. I’ve seen it in the way farmers in Tanzania rework scrap metal into essential tools. Students experience it whenever their teachers stretch their supplies to last a whole school year. Resourceful people throughout time have discovered ways to use the whole buffalo, live with little waste, and use whatever they have, until what they have can no longer be used. 

This may sound like a philosophy of scarcity, but one doesn’t have to be scraping by in order to discover useful resources in unexpected places. If anything, this is a mindset abundance. When we pay enough attention, we can see how truly blessed we are, with goodness in every corner of our lives.

How can we use this kind of clever, abundant thinking in order to tend to what God has given us? When I think about that restaurant’s repurposed pumpkins, I wonder what aspects of our church can have that same sort of renewed purpose. What do we already have that we can use to help our community grow in faith? What ministries can be given new life to share God’s grace in a changing world?

During this season of stewardship, many of us are evaluating how we can support St. Mark in the coming year, both financially and through gifts of service. What do you have that you can share with others? Let’s pay attention to the pumpkins in our lives as we continue to find new and clever ways to use all that God has given us to share God’s love with one another and the world. We have everything we need, and that includes you.

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna