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Dear Holy Comforter community members,
It has been a remarkable year for our nation, this community, and our parish. As we begin Holy Comforter’s Annual Giving Campaign, it is easy to see why we must focus on What Matters Most, the theme of this year’s campaign. Jesus lived a life without certainty of his next meal or place to rest, yet led his life with a purpose that drew multitudes. It is this Jesus who promises us abundant lives, who shows us how to live with radiant purpose and gracious generosity, regardless of environment.
So, it is with unshakeable confidence in our calling as a vibrant faith community that I ask you to commit your financial resources to What Matters Most, Annual Giving Campaign 2009.
Our What Matters Most Annual Giving Campaign has two goals:
- 100% participation
We believe that faithful financial stewardship is a spiritual discipline that brings us closer to God. We believe that every member of Holy Comforter is important to God’s work in and through this place, and that every gift is valuable to the giver and to the church.
- $830,000 in pledge income
This financial goal stems from our Vestry’s adoption of a 2009 budget that requires the same level of pledge support as in 2008. As we will learn in our parish annual meeting, this budget reflects a hopeful vision of our mission.
These resources, of disciplined commitment and money, enable us to “make disciples who make a difference,” as Bishop Michael Curry likes to say. We make disciples through Christian formation, and nurture them through the sacraments and worship, children’s chapel, inspirational music, caring Stephen Ministry, women’s and men’s fellowship, and more.
We send those disciples out into our community and our world in service. For those who are hungry, we provide a five-day-a-week Loaves & Fishes pantry and prepare and serve food for the Uptown Shelter, Charlotte Rescue Mission, and the Emergency Winter Shelter. We shelter the homeless through Room in the Inn, build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and nurture children through Amachi. Our youth and adults travel regularly to Bay St. Louis, and our adults have traveled to Mexico and El Salvador to work with Habitat and Episcopal Relief and Development. These are only some of our ministries and missions.
It is your committed giving that enables us to do the work God calls us to do.
With joy,
Elizabeth A. Hardin
Chair, Annual Giving Campaign
For the committee
Mark Becker Tom Cooke Kirt Hibbits
Rebecca Knowe Tammy Langley Bill Merlo
Jenny Merlo Leann Thurman Cassandra Tydings
A Stewardship Primer
We welcome the chance to meet with you and your family to share more about financial stewardship and ways to give of your time and talent at Holy Comforter. Please contact Beth Hardin at eahardin@mindspring.com or 704/344-2102 to arrange for a caller to meet with you.
Financial stewardship, understood as a spiritual discipline, has three particular blessings:
- Centering your life in Christ
- Ordering your life consistent with your beliefs,
- Empowering you to extend your impact.
My grandfather’s blessing is a short statement about stewardship: all that we are and all that we have comes from God. Each of us is made in the image of Christ, with distinct talents and purposes. We return a portion of the financial resources generated by our talents, for God’s work in this world. What we return, we return with gratitude and hope.
The Biblical standard of giving, accepted by the Episcopal Church and this parish, is the tithe. A tithe means a tenth, or 10%. Whether giving at or beyond a tithe or starting at a proportion less than a tithe, it is possible for everyone to give faithfully.
Ordering
A Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that we, being ordered by thy governance, may do always what is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~Book of Common Prayer, Morning Prayer
Financial stewardship helps us identify those things that matter most to those who follow Jesus. As we make decisions about how to share our resources, we have the opportunity to align our faith with our finances.
Empowering
Financial stewardship is empowering. The process of prioritized, proportionate giving will, as we embrace it, pry us loose from societal pressure to have bigger, brighter, or more things. It liberates us to live our lives and share our resources in ways that bring abundance and further God’s work in this world. It takes the power of money and puts it to use in the name of Jesus.
"But true giving is not an economic exchange; it is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have; it multiples the effect we can have in the world." ~ Kent Nerburn in Simple Truths
The Christian discipline of financial stewardship is centering, brings order and alignment to our lives, and empowers us to serve God in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God.
Elizabeth A. Hardin
Chair, What Matters Most, Annual Giving Campaign 2009
“Only the disciplined are truly free.” Stephen Covey
What Matters Most Prayer
Annual Giving Campaign 2009
Creator God, we thank you for the many blessings you have showered on our Holy Comforter faith community and its members. We are grateful for clergy who preach, by word and deed, the good news of Jesus Christ. We give thanks for children and adults who sing, for those who labor quietly to make possible inspirational worship, for those who greet the newcomer and the member as if seeing Jesus. We give thanks for those who prepare lessons and teach, on Sundays and weekdays throughout the year, to build up the saints. We praise you for those who go without notice to provide spiritual support to people in difficult transitions. We give thanks for the Brotherhood of Biscuits and their kin, who allow us to break good bread with fellow travelers on the Way.
Our thanks are offered for the chance to serve as your ambassadors to Charlotte and the world, by feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, building housing, and nurturing children. We thank you for those whose organizational skills make it possible for willing hearts and helping hands to make a difference. For all these things and more than we can name, we thank you.
Ignite our passion for the good news as we give our resources to your work in and through Holy Comforter this year. Help us live generous lives and be faithful givers, confident that your Kingdom is What Matters Most. We ask all this through your son Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
OR