Toward the end of each year, the Vestry asks you to consider what you plan to give for the mission and ministry of St Peter’s in the coming year.
This year the process begins on Sunday, October 8, when Elizabeth Heimbach, Stewardship Chairperson and also our Senior Warden, gives you a letter from me, Catherine, which explains where your money goes and how the church uses it, and asking you to support this work in the coming year.
Included with this letter is a card on which you can list what you plan to give to St Peter’s in 2024. You may also pledge online this year. Your online pledge goes directly to Jim Heimbach, the St Peter’s Treasurer, as do the pledge cards that you fill out and turn in. Your financial commitment is something to consider prayerfully.
During the month of October, you’ll see a large tree on the wall of the church made by Jan Saylor. This tree starts off with no leaves. Without its leaves, the tree cannot live. When you decide to make a financial commitment to St Peter’s for the coming year, please choose a leaf to add to the branches, bringing new life to our life together, rooted in love.
As Bishop Robert W. Ihloff, Retired Bishop of Maryland says, “When the church asks us to give, we are really being asked to invest, to invest in ministries and programs that change people’s lives. Often these are programs that have changed or enhanced our own lives: meaningful worship, education, mission in places close by and far off. Our investment enables us to reduce the suffering of the poor and marginalized, open new options for the downtrodden, and offer new hope for those who feel lost. It is hard not to feel good about such investments.”
Giving money to support the work that we do together as the church is a way to practice your faith in God, who has created us and has blessed us with all the resources at our disposal. Giving money to the work of this church is a way we express gratitude, generosity, service and care as we reach out to the world in love.
Your money can change lives through our work together. People from our food distribution tell me what a difference this food makes in getting them through the month in good physical and financial shape. One woman prayed for us and for our ministry as she offered her prayer of gratitude and blessing. Help from the discretionary fund not only helps people keep their electricity on and their rent paid, but also gives them a chance to move forward—one woman needed just one month of help with keeping her internet connected to keep her job, which help her to gain financial security. She was so grateful not to have to start over and to look for another job.
Sharing money for God’s work through St Peter’s is a way to care for something you hopefully value and treasure, that is, this church. Your giving in 2024 helps us to maintain and grow our own community of love, to provide worship, which has to be planned and carried out, not only for those who come to church in person, but those who join online. Your giving allows us to enjoy fellowship with one another in well maintained buildings surrounded by the beauty of our grounds.
Responding with financial support to St Peter’s in 2024 is your chance to say, “Yes, Lord, I will do this, because I believe in what we are doing as a church, and who we are becoming as followers of Jesus.”
Here is a description of our ministries. Your 2024 pledge will help to make them thrive!