A Message from Rev. Katie:
In the New Testament, the term "saints" is applied to all faithful Christians. The Apostle Paul often addresses his letters to Christian communities as "saints." When I look out on Sunday mornings, I see a gathering of saints, each reflecting the fruit of God's work among us. We don't come here simply to receive God's grace, but to be nourished so that we may go forth and serve others in the world.
During this season of stewardship, I invite you, dear saints, to prayerfully consider how you might continue to support Emmanuel's work. Stewardship is about more than financial giving; it's about dedicating our time, talents, and resources to God's service. For, it takes all of us "joyous saints" to be Emmanuel. I encourage you to reflect on how God is calling you to participate in our mission in the year ahead.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. Katie Bradshaw
SET UP AUTOMATIC PLEDGE PAYMENTS
If you would like to set up automatic pledge payments, it's easy to do. Just click the "Online Giving" button above. You can set up the payments to be weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, or quarterly. You can use your credit or debit card, or you can have payments taken out of your checking account.
Our secure payment processor works through Realm. If you don't already have a Realm account, or if you have any questions about the process, call Anna Kurtz at 706-543-1294.
And remember--your generous gifts are vital to the mission of our church.
THANK YOU!!
"Pledging" vs. "Giving"
Have you sometimes wondered why we ask for pledges at the beginning of each year? To be sure, we appreciate gifts made even without a pledge. But submitting your pledge up front is important to our operations. Here's why.
Each December, the Finance Committee and Vestry make a budget for the next year. The only way we have of predicting whether we can pay our bills and meet our outreach commitments is by knowing how much we expect to receive during the year in pledge payments. So we add up all the pledges we receive, and that's the amount we allocate out to expenses and ministries. When pledges aren't received, we have to assume that the gifts won't be received either.
So as you're praying about your answer to the stewardship call, make sure to tell us now what you're hoping to give. Remember that, although your pledge is important to the budget process, a pledge is not a contract. Your pledge is made in faith, and if circumstances change, you can increase or decrease your giving as needed.
