Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew (SsAM)

Seeking to know and love God in every person, here, now.

  • Welcome
    • News & Upcoming Events
    • Online Calendar
    • Visit SsAM on Facebook
    • eMail Sign Up
    • Welcome to SsAM Booklet
    • Worship at SsAM
    • Sunday Documents: Leaflet, Bulletin, Weekly Vision, Readings
    • Our Unique Approach to Music and Liturgical Design
    • The use of Expansive (inclusive) Language at SsAM
  • Who We Are
    • Diversity
    • Clergy
      • Clergy Transition
      • Rev. James Bimbi, Interim Rector
      • Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson
      • Sermons
    • Vestry
      • Vestry Statements, Photos
      • Scott Serota, Treasurer
    • Staff
      • D-L Casson, Church Administrator
      • David Christopher, Music Director
    • Children’s Ministries
    • Youth & Young Families at SsAM
    • Episcopal Church Women – ECW
    • History of the Parish
      • Father David’s Blog
      • History, Diocese of Delaware
      • History of Slavery in Delaware
      • History of Wilmington Garden Day
    • Member Photos
      • Photo & Video Archive
    • People Who Pray
  • What We Do
    • Services of Worship
      • Sunday Documents: Bulletin, Weekly Vision, Readings
      • Baptisms
      • Weddings
        • Wedding Guidelines
        • Wedding Fees
      • Funerals
    • Children’s Chapel
    • Adult Education
    • List of Health / Wellness Posts
    • Season of Creation
    • Sacred Jazz at SsAM
    • Art Slam at SsAM
    • Annual Reports
    • Website Maintenance
  • Get Involved
    • eNewsletter Sign Up
    • Volunteer in the Community!
    • Volunteer at Worship!
    • Volunteer Behind The Scenes!
    • Health / Wellness Posts
    • Invite Welcome Connect
    • Financial Contributions
    • Stewardship Posts
    • Pledge Form, On-Line Payment Link
    • Member Resources
  • Music
    • Katherine Esterly Organ
      • DONATE and become a FRIEND of the Katherine Esterly Organ
      • Friends of the KEO
      • Tonal Specifications
      • About the Organ Renovation Project
    • Choirs at SsAM
      • Choir Member Resources
    • Chorister Training Program
      • Chorister Advancement Levels
    • Sacred Jazz at SsAM
    • Drumming Circle
    • Music Staff
      • David Christopher, Director of Music
      • The SsAM Staff Singers
      • Jonathan Whitney, Director of Drumming Circle and Artist in Residence
      • Tina Betz, Director of Children’s Chapel Music
      • Berna Holcomb, Music Librarian
    • Artists in Residence
      • Jonathan Whitney
      • Delaware ChoralArts
    • Our Approach to Music and Liturgical Design at SsAM
  • Contribute
  • Contact Us
    • Directions

Money and Soul Are Deeply United in Stewardship

Fish In Water, Lake MeadHoly Currencies, A Profound River

— Money and soul are united on a deep level of stewardship. This truth is reappearing from the deep stream of wisdom traditions after centuries of almost total splitting and separation at the conscious level. [1] There is un río profundo, a river beneath the river. The upper stream has always been money in all its forms, beginning with trading and bartering. The deeper stream is the spiritual meaning such exchanges must have for our lives. Money and soul have never been separate in our unconscious because they are both about human exchanges, and therefore, divine exchange, too.

Notice how much religion uses the language of commerce, such as gaining heaven, acquiring merit, doing penance, earning salvation, losing one’s soul, and deserving hell. Of course, there is also the notion of “penal substitutionary atonement” itself, with Jesus “paying the debt” for our sins.

On the other side, commerce uses the metaphors of religion far more than it realizes: we purchase bonds and trusts, enter into covenants, forgive debts, are granted grace periods for repayment, enjoy indemnity, reconcile accounts, and redeem coupons!

A Vision of Wholeness that puts Money in its Soulful Place

When money and soul are separated, religion is the major loser. Without a vision of wholeness that puts money in its soulful place, religion “sells out.” Religion allowed itself to lose the only ground on which awe and transcendence stand—the foundation of totally gratuitous and “amazing grace.” We traded it for a “mess of pottage” (see Genesis 25:27–34), a secretly enthroned ego that only knows how to count, weigh, measure, dole out, judge, label, earn, expel, and compete. No wonder Jesus’ direct action in the Temple that exposed the idolatrous game got him killed within a week! All four Gospels in some form speak of “turning over the tables” of buying and selling. [2] Even with this forceful gospel teaching, our faith became transactional instead of transformational, calculating instead of consoling.

Lynne Twist, founder of the Soul of Money Institute, understands the impact that our culture’s disintegrated view of money has made and invites us to the spiritual practice of bringing the two—money and our souls—together in our lives. She writes:

In a world that seems to revolve around money, it is vital that we deepen our relationship with our soul and bring it to bear on our relationship with money. In that merger and that commitment, we can create a new and profound spiritual practice. We can have our money culture both balanced and nourished by soul. Our relationship with money can become a place where, day in and day out, we can engage in this meaningful spiritual practice. [3]

The comments above are some of Father Richard Rohr’s unpublished notes about money. As a Franciscan dedicated to simple living and the Gospel call to solidarity with the marginalized, Richard sees an opportunity for each of us to rediscover a “soulful” relationship with money.
[1] This astounding truth is being discovered and communicated by a series of teachers and enlightened economists today. Check out names like Charles Eisenstein, Stephen Jenkinson, Jacob Needleman and Doug Lynam, to name just a few.
[2] See Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–18, Luke 19:45–46, John 2:13–17.
[3] Lynne Twist with Teresa Barker, The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources (W. W. Norton: 2006, 2017), 19–20.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, What Do We Do with Money?, unpublished notes, 2020.

Click here to see all of Father David’s recent posts.

Worship services on Sundays are in-person and via video, at 8am and 10:30am. Prayer services via video are offered on other days.
Click here to learn more about Sunday and weekday services of worship and prayer.

Ask Others To Pray With You
Click here or the button above to use our Prayer Request form.

Volunteer for a Ministry
Be part of a worship service, work behind the scenes to make the church hum, or reach out to the local community.

Support Our Efforts Financially
You can make a secure on-line donation using your credit card, make a pledge, or make other contributions.

NEWS

Worship with us this Sunday!

You are invited to praise God with us in-person and via video on Sunday at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. is when we … [Read More...]

Reflection – May We All Be One

I was starting down a different path for this piece. And then the news of the school shooting in Texas hit and on the heels of the horror in … [Read More...]

First Friday Walks for Justice and Peace in Wilmington, Delaware

  First Fridays at 5:30 p.m. starting in the SsAM parking lot These walks are a public display of our belief that society needs … [Read More...]

Scholarships Available for SsAM Members

Deadline: July 15, 2022 The Community Advocacy Committee is again sponsoring scholarships for students entering college in the fall of 2022 … [Read More...]

SsAM Presents: Upcoming Events

Here is a list of upcoming events at SsAM or recommended by our church. Worship This Sunday You are invited to praise God with us … [Read More...]

Dr. Joseph E. Johnson Recognized by City of Wilmington, Delaware

Highlands Elementary School has been re-named for Joe Johnson. Highlands Elementary School was re-dedicated and re-named for Joseph E. … [Read More...]

Music Concerts in Wilmington, Delaware

Postponed: Music of America Concert by Delaware Choral Arts Due to illness, the DCA concert scheduled for May 29 has been postponed. The … [Read More...]

2022 Walk to End Epilepsy

Run with Team Johannes on June 4, 2022 at Glasgow Park. Valerie Chow shared the following: What is epilepsy? Is it contagious? What … [Read More...]

Johannes Chow wins Earth Day recognition

Johannes Chow, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Brandywine Springs School in Wilmington, was recognized for the video “We Have Only One … [Read More...]

Reflection – We All Deserve A Chance

by Mary Lou Edgar. Many of you know that I worked in adoption and foster care for my entire career. May is Foster Care Month and I … [Read More...]

Support For Ukraine

Episcopal Migration Ministries Episcopal Migration Ministries welcomes refugees, educates communities, and mobilizes congregations to … [Read More...]

National Issues and the Episcopal Church

Women’s Health May 7, 2022 — Since 1967, The Episcopal Church has maintained its “unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of … [Read More...]

Reflection – Listen to the Word Proclaimed

Imagine yourself at the theater, you've settled into your seat, ready for the curtain to open. You have your script of the play open and … [Read More...]

See all the News & Upcoming Events posts

Worship Services

We will be delighted if you worship with us in-person or via video on Sundays at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Click here to learn more!

Visit Us

719 N. Shipley Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
with free parking weekends and evenings next to the church at 713 N. Shipley Street. Click here to learn more about parking and directions.
Office Hours
Monday – Thursday, 9:00 to 4:30
Friday, 9:00 to 1:00

OUR MISSION

To be an inclusive Christian community which worships God, follows Christ in all aspects of our lives, and serves the Greater Wilmington area through actions and ministries which promote peace, justice, reconciliation and empowerment for all people.

Contact Us

PHONE: 302 656-6628

EMAIL: Click here to use our email form.

FACEBOOK: Click here to see our Facebook page. You don’t need a Facebook account to see it.

YOUTUBE: Click here to see our YouTube Channel. Some smart TV sets will allow you to stream YouTube, so you can watch in your den or living room. Search for “Saints Andrews and Matthew”.

Are You New to SsAM?

If you are new to SsAM, please click here to see the Welcome to SsAM booklet in PDF format. The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew is a dynamic and diverse congregation in downtown Wilmington, Delaware.

Our Vision

The Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew and Matthew seeks to be a dynamic, spiritual center that is active in the pursuit of peace and justice in the community and a place where all God’s people are honored.

LINKS

  • Worship at SsAM: Sunday Documents, Church News, and More
  • eNewsletter Sign Up
  • YouTube Service Videos
  • SsAM on Facebook
  • Recent Announcements at SsAM
  • Clergy Transition
  • Recent Sermons
  • Episcopal Church in Delaware
  • Episcopal Church USA
  • Michael Curry’s blog: the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
  • Episcopal Digital Network
  • Forward Day By Day
  • Book of Common Prayer
  • Camp Arrowhead, Delaware
  • Congregational Development
  • Calendar
  • Visit SsAM on Facebook
  • eNewsletter Sign-up

Donations Are Welcome, and a Necessity
Our ministries are dependent on financial donations. Click here to make a secure credit-card donation on-line or to learn

Our main focus is ministry, not money!
We offer a host of ministries for which you can volunteer. You can participate in worship services, help make the church hum, or offer your time and talent to the local community.

SsAM Logo

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2022 The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew · Log in