How Faithful Giving Shapes Ministry

Dear Friends,

I doubt you’ve gone to church lately and thought about the implications that a change to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas fixed rate for a 5-year advance would have on your worship experience. But someone has thought about that, and I’m really thankful for that.

My deep gratitude for the wisdom and leadership of our lay members is something I don’t end up articulating often enough. We’ve been blessed over the years with faithful, hardworking, and conscientious wardens, treasurers, and finance committee members. This point was brought home to me this week as our Vestry talked through the specifics of the adjustable-rate loan (for the original building) that we are still paying off. It’d been debated and discussed – and not just in terms of what happens to our monthly loan payment, but in terms of how that impacts our ability to share God’s grace with the world, to spread the Gospel message of hope, forgiveness and love, and to bring more and more people into relationship with Jesus Christ.

People paying attention to things like loan amortization schedules enable the sorts of experiences I hope are more common at St. Andrew’s: finding yourself caught up in the beauty of a hymn on Sunday morning, getting lost in awe and wonder at the gift of grace in the sacrament placed in your hands, and leaving full of gratitude for an opportunity to serve others here at St. Andrew’s.

And we’re grateful for you too, the people of St. Andrew’s, whose generosity has made possible the ability to have strategic conversations about using our resources to spread the gospel (as opposed to panicked conversations about how to pay the bills). Every time you place a check or cash in the offering plate, every time you give online or set up a recurring gift via SecureGive, you make possible the work of God in this place – the tears that come with the forgiveness of past sins, the hope that comes from the Resurrection in the face of death, the love built up between one another that reflects the love of the Father, and joy that a meal – or a bedroom set – or a little help with a bill brings to a family in dire need. Thank you.

In Christ,
Fr. Andrew