Why St. John's: Annual Giving Overview

 

People seem encouraged when I ask them to pray but put off when I invite them to give. I understand that. A quick request uttered to God seems so much cheaper and easier than a chunk of our income put in the offering plate. We expect our priest to focus on spiritual matters like prayer and steer clear of worldly things like money. But, if money is the primary means through which we communicate value, what are we saying about our relationship with God if we would rather leave money out of it? And which really costs you more: an hour of your time each day spent silently in the presence of God or the $100 check you put in the offering plate each week?

 

I encourage people to give because giving is the clearest and most powerful way that we participate in what God is doing in the world. When we give some of what really matters to us back to God, we commit ourselves to God's work, and we open ourselves up to be recipients of that work. We do not give because God needs our money, and we do not give because our church has bills to pay. We give because we need God. We give for the same reason we walk through the door on Sunday mornings. We give for the same reason we volunteer with Homework Helpers. We give for the same reason we sing in the choir, come to Bible study, and enjoy fellowship at Theology on Tap. We give our time, our prayers, our heart, our work, and our treasure because we see what God is doing all around us and because we need it at the center of our lives.

 

Over the next four weeks, we will focus on our annual giving campaign, which centers on the theme of "Why St. John's?" Each Sunday, we will hear from another parishioner who has her or his own "Why St. John's" to share. This Sunday, we heard Tony Bolan say that God brought him here and is keeping him here because St. John's is a church that focuses on the beautiful simplicity of the Christian faith: loving God and loving our neighbor. These parishioner talks are the focus of this year's annual giving campaign. I hope you will listen to them and ask yourself why you are a part of the ministries of this parish.

 

Each week in the newsletter, I will write about the importance of transformational giving as a spiritual practice. This will be my way of reminding you that proportional, sacrificial, first-fruits giving is how we learn to trust in God and God's blessings instead of worrying about whether we will have enough. We will not have a central teaching moment in the parish hall as we have in previous years. Also, we will not make home visits, during which an uncomfortable visitor makes an awkward pitch and asks you to make a pledge. Instead, I will use the newsletter to encourage you to consider what percentage of your income you will choose to give back to God and God's work in the world next year. Because of that, I hope you that you will pay particular attention to what is communicated here as you pray about your financial commitment for 2018.

 

After four Sundays of lay talks and four weeks of newsletter articles, we will come together on October 29 to celebrate God's blessings and make our commitment for the coming year. At both worship services that morning, we will distribute pledge cards and ask you to fill them out at the end of the service. Then we will place them in an envelope and bring them to the altar and give them to God as a sign of what we are choosing to give God next year. Later that evening, we will gather at the home of Julia and Nick Roth for our annual Parish Picnic, where we will continue our celebration of God's bounty around a table of fellowship.

 

Listen for what you will hear in church. Pay attention to what is written here. Pray about the percentage of your income that you will give to God next year. Come to church on October 29 and indicate your decision on your pledge card. Celebrate with us all that God has given and promises to give. Participate with all of God's children in the renewal of this world.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Evan D. Garner