Pastor’s Corner “The Intersection of Faith & Finances”

At our Annual Meeting this past February, I explained how Jesus is leading Immanuel into a year of Generous Giving. His Holy Spirit expands our hearts as we continue moving out of comfort into adventure, out of control into trust, out of smallness into abundance. I set before you three specific ways in which we are responding to our Father’s call to “excel in this act of grace” (2 Corinthians 8:7):

Ø  Be generous in our financial giving.

Ø  Be generous in our relational giving.

Ø  Be generous in our Gospel giving.

Using this three-fold call to guide our prayerful deliberations, the Vestry went on retreat in March to discern our priorities for 2026 (see below). The Vestry will gather this upcoming Saturday to pray, review these priorities, assess our progress, and begin articulating our 2027 priorities so that we create our 2027 budget in accordance with the mission given to us by the Lord. Please pray for us as we listen to the Spirit and to each other.

I want to share briefly how we’ve engaged the priority to cultivate generous financial giving. This priority emerged from a series of conversations with our Bishop, Chris Warner, in which he identified a leadership opportunity for growth and discipleship regarding money. Bishop Chris’ exhortation stirred the Vestry’s faith and imagination. We then invited Bishop John Guernsey to offer additional teaching and guidance. So far Bishop John has met twice with the Vestry, providing biblical teaching integrated with practical application, and facilitating transparent conversations about our personal giving practices. Repeatedly he invited us into this “deeper discipleship,” reminding us that the godly giving of the congregation will not exceed their leaders’ faith-full generosity.

Without exception, each of us has come away from these meetings encouraged in our faith, ready to take the next steps in our personal discipleship in our finances. One of our goals for Saturday’s meeting is to draft a statement that expresses our mutual commitment to tithing as a spiritual discipline that puts God first in our lives.

I look forward to sharing that statement with you on Sunday and to providing a biblical overview of encountering God at the intersection of faith and finances.

Your Pastor in Christ,

Vestry Priorities for 2026: Cultivate generous financial giving, Begin Life Groups, Cultivate Newcomers Ministry, Re-envision Mission & Outreach, Establish new planning cycle, Develop “Visionary Budgeting,” Plan hiring of Director of Worship Arts/Music Ministry.