It’s appropriate that yesterday’s Epistle lesson was thanking God for the growing faith and increasing love among the members of a church. I see and feel this here too. (See YouTube Version)
Thank you all for the gifts you’ve pledged throughout this Annual Giving season. Thank you for your love and thank you for your faith in how we can serve God here.
There is still so much we can do. We’ve seen over and over again, particularly when we thought the migrant refugees were being sent to Delaware, that people still look to Episcopal churches. They know that we walk and act in love.
This is a moment of such energy and possibilities. People here want to do new things as we emerge from the past two years, but need resources to do so — your time, your talent, your treasure.
For those of you who haven’t turned in pledges yet, think about what this church means to you. Reflect prayerfully on the work we’ve done and the work we have yet to do. Consider what you can return to God to see that we can continue doing His work here.
And thank you all for everything you’ve given.
During October, we are collecting our thoughts, thanksgivings, and prayers for Annual Giving for our reflection. Annual Giving will take financial commitments from each of us. An opportunity before us is examining how much we give and whether we can do more. Please prayerfully determine how to give back that which has been given to you. Won’t you please pledge your gifts using our pledge card and return it as soon as you can? Pledges may be left in the box in the church lobby or mailed using the self-addressed, stamped envelope included in the packet you received.
Thank you,
Kristin Sausville
PLEDGE CARD IN-GATHERING PRAYER
Gracious and loving God, giver of all that is good and true and beautiful and life-giving: These cards represent our labor, our lives, and our hopes and dreams. The pledges which we make on them are tokens of the awesome gifts that have been given to us and they are pledged in thanksgiving for all that we have received, for all we have been inspired to be, for all we are challenged to become, in this place. May they be the first fruits of all we have and not what we have left over. May they be signs of your hand in our lives. May we see them as our offering to you, sacred and holy, and filled with possibilities. And may we hold this day and what we do here in our hearts and our minds so that week by week we may see our whole lives as an offering to you. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.