The smiling group you see here is this year’s Congregational Giving Task Force.  We are Borgie Yunis, Julia Cochran, Ruth Sedlock, Jeff Tustin, and Andy Carlisle.  Josh Torgerson is also part of the group, but he couldn’t make it for the photo.

Keith Jenkins Man gathered the first CG task force in 2011.  The actions of that group, and every one after it, have been guided by these values:  that generosity is a core value of our faith, and that it is important that we support and encourage each other in our journeys toward becoming more generous.  Though you might be meeting us now for the first time, this year’s task force has been meeting and studying since spring, dreaming together about year-round ways to both celebrate and challenge generosity.

The theme of this year’s Congregational Giving Appeal will be “Delight in Giving,” as in “Each one should give however their heart leads them.  God loves it when a giver delights in the giving.”  2 Corinthians 9:7  Isn’t that great advice?!  We look forward to walking with you this fall toward deeper delight “in the giving.”

Save the date:  November 6, 2016 – Dedication of our pledges in worship, followed by Celebration Brunch!

During our Congregational Giving Appeal season, members of WCUC  are sharing how this community impacts them and why they give. Ruth and David gave this testimony on October 11th.

Ruth: My parents taught me so much about generosity: generosity of love, generosity of encouragement, generosity of forgiveness – but they did not teach me about generosity of money. I never knew how much money my parents gave away. And that was weird, because we talked about money constantly: I knew how much money my father brought home each week, how much my mother put into each of her little brown bill envelopes; how little, if any, would be left. I don’t think my parents were able to give much, if anything, to the church. I was aware that that was a source of considerable discomfort for them. Of course, there was no way to talk about that at their church.

Dave: I come from the same economic background as Ruth. And, my family didn’t talk about their giving habits either. But it seemed like my church talked about nothing else. Even as a kid I thought it was bizarre. Our church collected no less than 3 offerings during worship on Sunday. I honestly thought that the church kept collecting money from everyone until the parishioners literally ran out of money to give. In my church, guilt seemed to be the motivating factor in giving.

Ruth: So along come Dave and I. Married barely out of our teens. Earnestly trying to conduct ourselves as grownups. And, we did okay – except around the issue of generosity. There we didn’t have a clue what to do or why.

But then, as many of you know, we started moving around. We’ve lived all over the country in our 42 years together, and for us, cross-pollination has been a good thing. We encountered a few church congregations along the way that DID have safe and loving ways to talk about money. People we admired and trusted, people who in many ways were just like us, helped us begin to think about giving, and the kind of givers we wanted to be.

David: Another thing happened: as we moved around, since we had no family close by, we kind of adopted the church as our family and they adopted us and it helped a lot esp. when we had kids. And that helped us understand a bit about giving – it wasn’t to a faceless edifice or organization, it was our alma familia and giving took on a new meaning.

Ruth: Early on when we finally got the courage to calculate our giving as a percentage of our income, it wasn’t much, but hey, you have to start somewhere. We’d ask ourselves, can we move this year from 1 to 1 ½ percent? From 1 ½ to 2?

David: We eventually got to 10 percent; some years it’s more, some years less, but to tell you the truth lately we haven’t been keeping strict track – it’s just kind of where we are right now. We’ve never really been dealt the ‘guilt’ card, so we’ve really never viewed our gifts in that way. The way we see it, we owe God everything. Everything we are, everything we have is through God.

Ruth: It is absolutely our privilege to share at least some of our gifts in ways that serve God. Sharing our money in this place – where we bump into the Holy in such surprising ways, where people work so hard to make God’s love and justice real – is a joy. We do it for ourselves, and we do it for those we have not yet met, so that they might know the joy, too.

It’s also a privilege to share our story with you. Thank you.

As we enter our Congregational Giving Appeal season, members of WCUC  are sharing how this community impacts them and why they give. Janice gave this testimony on October 4th.

God is at work in my life in many ways. God is there in the rough times, like recently when my brother had a stroke. Your hugs helped me feel God’s presence of healing.

And God has put people into my life who help me, people at our church, people at Minuteman ARC, and especially my mother. My mother taught me the ropes on how to be on my own. She said, there will come a time when you will have to be on your own. She helped me get involved with Minuteman ARC.

I have become very active in Minuteman ARC. It’s opened up new horizons for me. It has a program called “Work Opportunities” which has helped me get the best job in the world – I play with cats and kittens at “Buddy Dog,” an animal shelter in Sudbury. In Minuteman ARC, I am more with my own community. I get to do more adult stuff and get involved with new activities. Like the “Self Advocacy” program. I have had training in self advocacy. The skills have helped me, and now I’m helping others.

My church gives me opportunities to grow, too. My work with the Church School and Nursery keeps me busy. Melissa, from church school, has really given me responsibilities, like I take attendance and lead the good morning song and other things. I like having responsibility for young kids in the Nursery, too.

I give my time and money to West Concord Union Church for lots of reasons, but mostly because I want the church to be healthy and I want to say thank you to God for bringing us together as a community. Giving makes me feel great!

My mother helped me decide how much to give to the church. We decided that I will give sixty dollars each year.

God has made a wonderful change in my life by giving me a better outlook, and positive things like getting involved in new adventures at Minuteman ARC, Buddy Dog, and church. And I am thankful.

This November, we are sharing stories of why members and friends of WCUC are a part of this community.

When I first came to this church the Sunday Fellowship program attracted me to join the church. The WCUC congregation accepts everyone. WCUC is a community where I feel comfortable; I feel I belong here. The congregation is kind, loving. I go to church because at church we get to practice doing what Jesus teaches us in the Bible, to love your neighbor.

This November, we are sharing stories of why members and friends of WCUC are a part of this community.

We have found a warm welcome at West Concord Union Church. We joined in 2014 for many good reasons: accessibility for the disabled, especially the splendid elevator; the ministry of Sunday Fellowship that overflows and blesses everyone; prayer which is honest and inclusive of the sufferings of our neighbors; a progressive and loving pastor; the Open and Affirming covenant of the congregation; and a sense of joy, good humor, and surprise in worship. We are thankful for this good church. We are grateful that we can offer our pledge of support in the coming year for its mission and ministry as part of the Body of Christ.

This November, we are sharing stories of why members and friends of WCUC are a part of this community.

I love WCUC because of its community and opportunity for involvement. Our church welcomes everyone with open arms, and the congregation is filled with people who genuinely care and accept you for who you are. This attitude translates to what the church does outside of worship, which includes service projects, involving congregation members of all ages, that help many different people and organizations.

This morning we gathered to dedicate our gifts and pledges for 2014 — and to celebrate all that they will make possible in our ministry together.  It was a blessing to see members of our community come forward with their offerings, and to feel the presence of so many others.

Bless us, Lord, as we walk in your way.  Bless our wealth and our want; our joys and our fears.  Strengthen and inspire us as we share what we have with this community, and with all of your creation.  Amen.

As soon as the word spread, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.   2 Chronicles 31:5

This year’s Congregational Giving letter has a chart with numbers on it.  This chart shows us what different percentages of various annual gross incomes amount to (you can find a similar one here).  Most of us can calculate percentages of our income easily. Why include a chart? It seems a bit crass. Many churches, knowing how complex monetary decisions are, never mention numbers. We know there’s no one answer for everybody, so we don’t suggest any answers at all.

If we omit dollars and percentages from our conversation, though, we pretend our faith giving is separate from the rest of our finances. Almost everyone else makes very specific requests for our money. We receive bills, non-profit soliciatations, and loads of advertisements with required or requested payment amounts. How does the church fit into that picture?

One suggestion from our tradition is that we set aside a tithe (10%) of our income for others. Some Christians give all of that money to their church, with the understanding that the church will serve those beyond its membership. Other Christians give 5% of their income to the church and 5% to other causes. But many people find any form of tithe difficult, either because it would cause financial hardship or because it would require a radical reorientation of thinking and budgeting. As a result, Christian communities increasingly encourage their members to focus on “percentage giving.”  Simply learning what percentage of our income we give away, and praying about what we feel called to give, is a powerful exercise.

Do you know what percentage of your income you give? Do you feel moved to change that percentage over time? What portion of those gifts do you feel called to give to the church? No one answer is right for everyone, but I hope this season will be rich in reflection for you.