A Reflection as We Prepare and Raise Funds for
Our Church Building Project
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
To the Vestry – Thank you for faithful leadership and prayerful discernment as we look to God to lead us in His overall vision for our parish. Thank you for your generosity in providing for a delicious lunch for the congregational meeting on June 5th.
To the Congregation – Thank you to those who attended the luncheon meeting and all who expressed comments, questions, interests and concerns. The question box in the Coffee Nook will remain to keep the lines of communication open. All items submitted will be addressed. In the week following the luncheon, $3,966 was given to the Phase One Building Fund! Praise God for those who are cheerful givers! Your positive feedback and volunteering to give of your time and talent and financial gifts even before the “formal” asking of pledge is encouraging and a great blessing to the Vestry.
In this time of renewed excitement and commitment to our church, it is important for you to know –as I said in the opening of the June 5th presentation – that when the Vestry discussed the plans to move forward with the building proposal presented by the Long Range Building Committee, the following were discussed in keeping with the Great Commission as given to the first church and us and the vision for Prince of Peace to reach out to our local community:
Outreach – the Philosophy and Purpose for our church today
Pastoral – Communication and Caring so each parishioners is connected
Stewardship – Finances and Care of Building to be good stewards of all God has entrusted to us
It is an encouragement to me that we have chosen God-fearing and prayerful leaders dedicated to seeking God and listening to the Holy Spirit in all we do. We know that if we faithfully seek God’s will, hear His command and pray for His perfect purpose to be accomplished in this world and in the next, we are submitting to His will being done. I was led to read and ask you to also read Exodus 35:1-29. This passage outlines the construction of the Tabernacle commanded from the Lord to Moses. In building the Tabernacle (verses 5-21), God did not demand these special offerings, but he appealed to these people with generous hearts. Only those who were willing to give were invited to participate. God loves cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7). Our giving above our tithe should be from love and generosity, not from a guilty conscience. Review what God has done for you. Has He blessed you with enough to meet your daily needs? Thank Him, and then cheerfully make your decision to give.
Moses then asked people with various abilities to help with the tabernacle (verses 10-19). Every one of God’s people has been given special abilities. We are responsible to develop these abilities – even the ones not considered religious – and to use them for God’s glory. We can become skilled through study, by watching others, and through practice. Work on your skills or abilities that could help your church or your community.
Those whose hearts were stirred gave cheerfully to the Tent of Meeting, also called the “Tabernacle” (verse 21). With great enthusiasm they gave because they knew how important their giving was to the completion of God’s house. Moses had carefully explained the need and the plans for the Tabernacle, and so many people responded generously. For God to stir our hearts, we must be informed. At this time our church has a stewardship campaign for this building project. You are encouraged to get involved and learn all you can. But beware – God will use this knowledge to stir your heart! J
It is also important at this time to remind all of us that the commitment already made for our tithes should not waiver as the Lord provides for each of us individually. We must realize that our weekly giving is needed to keep our church’s budget in balance. The weekly giving updates in the bulletin are a reminder to keep us on track to provide for our church expenses and outreach giving.
While $25,000 might seem like huge goal, the following breakdown was shown in the PowerPoint presentation on June 5:
- $25,000/26 weeks = $962 additional in total congregational pledges needed each week.
- The suggested time frame is July 1 – Dec. 31, 2016
- We currently have 94 members units listed in our directory.
- If even half (47 member units) are able to give $20.50 additional each week for the 26 weeks, we will meet our goal!! (And even exceed our goal by $51 able be on our way to saving for Phase Two of the building project!)
This can only be achieved through individual prayer and discernment. We must remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12) Sacrificial giving must be responsible.
In humble service to glorify
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Susan Hovanec, Senior Warden
