Dear Trinity Community,
What strange times we’re living through! So many tragic losses… so much fear and worry.
And yet, we know ourselves to be blessed. As beloved children of God, we recognize our blessings no matter the current circumstance.
We see blessings in being part of this congregation, and we respond by inviting others into our worship and fellowship. Today’s invitation may be different, in that it may be an on-line experience. While we wait for the time when we can once again completely fill the sanctuary, we’re exploring new ways of “being church” that may expand our reach to people we may not have seen before.
We see blessings in being part of this community, and we respond by inviting our neighbors to share a meal on most Monday nights, even if it’s currently take-out! We invite our neighbors to join us in our Pumpkin Patch, and we look forward to returning to other invitational traditions like the Strawberry Festival and the Christmas Silver Tea.
We see blessings in being together, and we respond with fellowship and with mutual support. We know that Trinity is there for us: with a meal or a ride to the doctor when needed, with counseling and prayer. We’ve found an extended “family” with whom we can share our worries and our joys.
And, since it is impossible as an individual to save the world, we are blessed that through our contributions to the wider Church, we share our resources across the region, our nation, and the world. We help to build the church, assist in disaster recovery, provide nutrition, clean water, and fight disease.
This is the way that Trinity responds to our many blessings: generosity. As Christians, we strive to be generous, improving the lives of our neighbors, local and global. Perhaps even more importantly, living generously improves us. It changes our relationship with our “stuff”, and, in doing so, changes our relationship with God. Generosity moves our perspective to trusting in God instead of only relying on ourselves, our hard work, our knowledge, and our resources. What a relief to understand that we can rely on more than ourselves!
This year’s Stewardship drive must be different in some ways, because this year has put all of us in different circumstances. Some of our community is suffering from the health impacts and the economic consequences of the pandemic. On the other hand, some find themselves with reduced expenses, because they are spending more time at home. The uncertainty of this time will make Trinity’s budgeting very difficult. Your pledge is the best way to let our congregational leadership know how much financial support Trinity is likely to see next year. If you can afford to increase your pledge, please consider that Trinity is poised to expand our engagement with the community, and that that fulfilling these plans will depend on our funding. As always, please be aware that a pledge is a statement for your planned giving, not an immutable contract.
Enclosed is a pledge form. We hope that you will first give it some thought and spend some time in prayer about it. We will celebrate the gathering of our planned offerings on Commitment Sunday, November 22nd. You can bring your pledge to Trinity for that celebration or use the enclosed envelope to send it directly to the church.
Please know you are welcome to contact Father Tim, or any member of the Vestry or Stewardship Committee to help determine your pledge. We thank you in advance for your commitment to Trinity and wish you many generous blessings!
The Stewardship Committee
Jim Burress, D’Arcy Carr, Terry Commodore, and Geer Isdale
To view the PDF Version with pledge card tear off, please click here.