So now what?  We’ve paid off the mortgage, and we’ve burned it for good measure.

So now what do we do?

We move forward. 

It has been quite a year, and God’s grace, exercised through your generosity, has enabled us to pull off something pretty amazing in this continued stagnant economy 

It is time for us to budget for next year.  You have made your commitments of time and talent, and, yes, now it is time to make your financial commitment as well.  We need a pledge from every active participant in this congregation.

When everyone pledges, it makes “running the church” easier.  We know what we can budget for, and we have a pretty clear idea of where we can head in the next year.  The people who keep the books breathe a little easier, because even during those slow times when people find themselves on vacation instead of in worship, we trust that those pledges will come in when people return.  It’s easier to remind people to give what they said they would than to ask them to give what we would like. 

Those are all good reasons to pledge.

But there are deeper things we should remember about stewardship. 

God is good.  God always has been and always will be.

When we pledge, we don’t try to pay God back for what God has done for us.  We don’t try to even things out.  That would be impossible.  God is good.  God always has been and always will be.  When we pledge we commit ourselves to the church out of gratitude for what God has done for us, and out of faith in what God can do in the future.

Giving is good.  When we give our money away we realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.  When we give money away we allow ourselves to control our money and not be controlled by it. 

We are moving forward unencumbered by financial debt, ready to spend our energies in places other than worrying about money, ready to reach out and make even more of an impact in this world that is starving physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Help us widen our reach.  Please prayerfully consider how much you can commit to the ministries of this congregation in 2012.  Soon you will be receiving a letter outlining what we hope to accomplish next year, along with a pledge card.  Complete and return the pledge card, or simply email the amount to our Member Services Manager Tesa Crysler, .

Thank you.

Peace,

Patrick