Hello, Friends!

Today on this page you’ll find some words from me and from our gifted and faithful treasurer, Anita Barrick, about how our dreams, our gifts, and our resources need to come together in balance, for the good of the cause.

There are many beautiful signs of life in our faith community, that testify to the Spirit’s vital work in our midst.

New folks, new ideas, new work on our buildings and surroundings, new relationships and new dimensions for long-standing connections, new commitment to ministry with all ages and stations—it’s all good, and it’s all about God’s creativity at work in our individual and collective life.

And while we celebrate all these good things, it’s time for us to be realistic about the financial commitment necessary to maintaining a thriving, lively, loving church—which St. Luke is, and is coming to be, in all kinds of ways.

Over the past few years our church’s leadership has taken some significant leaps of faith.

• As a community we have committed to contributing regularly, proportionally, and responsibly to our denomination’s connectional obligations for support of mission and ministry at home and around the world.
• We have enhanced our daily operations by taking on professional custodial support and making substantial improvements to our buildings’ systems and our office equipment.
• We have undertaken some substantial improvement projects for our physical plant, which have necessitated loan agreements with Texas Methodist Foundation (including a brand new one, just approved).
• We continue to have young folks as a priority, which means even more adaptations of our spaces, as well as more paid staff for Sunday morning ministries.

I encourage you to pray with us for St. Luke and how God is blessing and calling us to grow in love and service, and to consider increasing your regular financial contribution to our common life in the Spirit.

I have recently done so, and it feels good, to do my small, proportional part for the common cause of service to Christ, through the ministries of St. Luke. Each one brings his or her own unique gifts and capabilities, and all of us share in the blessings of being in community, as we worship, learn, play, serve, and grow together—and everyone matters.

I look forward to continuing to give with you this Sunday, and all our days to come.

Shalom,

Sarah

WEEKLY FINANCIAL REPORT

Wow! Your Treasurer should leave town more often! In the last two weeks we’ve had $8,500 contributed toward General Budget funding, including significant gifts from members of our extended Epistle family that really gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. (Y’all know who you are…)

This should alleviate the cash flow crisis for this month, but unless we maintain this level of giving, our underlying problems still exist. (See the pastor’s message above.) For the time being, we’ve paid our bills and even put $1,000 into TMF to cover our next two loan payments.

To quote a classic commercial, “Thank you for your support.”

Anita