Dear St. Paul’s:

In worship, right before the alms basins are passed through the congregation,

you often hear me say, "Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for

us, an offering and sacrifice to God." Those words are not only an invitation to

put some money into the plate. They are an invitation to give yourself fully to

God—to live, with God's help, a life that is dedicated to God's service.

God has given us everything that we have—even God's own Son—and we are

called to respond to that generosity by walking in love just as we have been

loved. One way we do that is by setting aside a certain portion of our income

and dedicating it to God's work in the world. As you have heard me say, the act

of making a sacrificial, first-fruits, proportional gift back to God has the power

to shape our lives into the image of God's Son, Jesus. We give, therefore, in

order that we may learn to walk in love.

On Sunday, October 27, we will celebrate God's goodness and respond to

God's generosity as a congregation. We will serve a catered breakfast and give

everyone an opportunity to indicate what they anticipate their gifts to St. Paul's

will be in 2025. In the coming weeks, I hope you will listen to the teachings

about stewardship and pray about your giving, and I hope you will come and

celebrate with us on Celebration Sunday.

Whether you can join us in person or not, please respond to our invitation

using the RSVP form found here: https://tinyurl.com/celebration2024rsvp.

Thanks for all you give and do for St. Paul's! We are a wonderful, generous,

and faithful community of love because of you.

Yours faithfully,

Evan