October 30, 2009

Dear Friends:

It is time for us to express our financial support for the future ministry and mission of Christ Presbyterian Church. Each year on Consecration Sunday, members are invited to come forward with their pledge cards to indicate the level of giving they seek to offer in the coming year. The amount that is pledged enables us to set a realistic budget for the coming year.   Enclosed you will find a pledge card to indicate your expected support for Christ Presbyterian Church in 2010. Please bring the card with you to services on Consecration Sunday or mail it back to the church by November 14, if you are not able to attend. 

In the short period of time that I have been a member of Christ Presbyterian Church Session, and Stewardship Chair, I have been continually impressed, inspired and occasionally surprised at the myriad of activities and opportunities we provide to serve our church, our community and the world. I will be highlighting some of these activities in the next two weeks in the hope that it will encourage you to get more involved in giving your time, talent and financial resources in the mission of our church. 

Stewardship is not solely about funding our budget, but rather is about taking what we have inherited as our foundation, and then building upon it to ensure its future. In stewardship we are making an investment in the future, not only in the future of Christ Presbyterian Church, but ensuring that our children and grandchildren grow up to become servants of Christ, active in mission, valuing worship and being part of a Christian community. As we look around our community and our world today with all its distractions, I believe that we have a harder task than previous generations, and so we must rededicate ourselves to infectious Christianity. We must teach by example, by how we live our lives.

In part, this is why Session has recommended expectations for all of us to follow. The Session encourages all faithful members of Christ Presbyterian Church to: attend worship every Sunday we are in town; offer hospitality to visitors; participate in at least one Christian educational opportunity each year; devote at least five hours to community service each year; and work towards giving at least 5% of our household income to the ministry of our church. As a member of Session, I know that we were not trying to set down rules; instead we were interested in encouraging behaviors that seemed appropriate for faithful Christians. In the end, it is our hope that this will encourage people to join our church, who chose to be part of a church whose mission extends beyond one hour on Sunday mornings. 

Christ Presbyterian Church has a solid foundation in the teachings of Christ and our faith in God. May we give thanks for the faithful Christians that have gone before us and may we continue to build the church as a beacon of our faith to a community in need and to future generations.

I ask you to prayerfully consider a generous contribution to Christ Presbyterian Church. Your pledge will help set the future of our church. We are 95% supported by generous contributions from our current members and we look forward to your response and participation.

Yours in Christ,

 Phil Mintun, Leader