Consecration Sunday
One of the many things I have enjoyed at Trinity since I arrived last summer is the way God’s people here open their hearts to meet the needs of others. I stand in awe as I watch adults, children, whole families and individuals receive food (including hot meals) because of the generosity of Trinity members. I watch with amazement as this congregation steps up its commitment to our synod. Last year alone, this congregation gave $10,000 to the Delaware Maryland Synod. By the way, please be sure to read the letter of thanks from Bishop Gohl which will be in the upcoming issue of the HiLites newsletter.
One aspect of interim ministry is identifying what a congregation does well, and find ways to help them do it even better. That is what “Consecration Sunday” is all about. I have been working with some great people here (Tim Panther, Tony Nally, Theresa Foster, Julie Williams, Kami Hoffman, Chuck Hutchinson, Mark and Jen Poffenberger). Some of these people have given special testimonies on recent Sunday mornings, sharing the faith that has been given to them here at Trinity. Once or twice, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the church as these people connected with the rest of us as we sat in the pews.
Estimate of Giving Card is copyrighted so we can’t post an image of the entire card, but here’s an excerpt.
Consecration Sunday comes to its completion this Sunday, March 26. Pastor Mark Huffman, a friend of mine who serves Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Frederick will be our guest speaker. He too will give his testimony, and when the service is over, he will ask the ushers to hand out what we call “Estimate of Giving” cards. He will ask you to increase your giving over last year. If you remember, Tony Nally showed us a chart a few Sundays ago and asked us to prayerfully consider “stepping up” to a higher level of giving.
We want you to know that the card is optional. No one has to fill it out, and we do not even want anyone to feel pressured to fill it out. The card is simply a tool many people find to be helpful as they commend their offerings to God. We want to make a promise to everyone who does fill out a card. The only other eyes that see your card will be those of Tony Nally. He will tally the figures from all the cards and make a report during the celebration dinner a short time later, indicating what Trinity can expect to receive from its people during the coming year, based both on the cards received and the giving patterns of people during the past twelve months. And he will destroy the cards when the meal is over. We also realize that some people may want to take more time to consider their response. Feel free to take the card home with you, fill it out, and return it at a later date. Our aim is to help people in their relationship to God. If this procedure works for you, great! If you need to alter the procedure – great! It’s not about the procedure – it’s about faith.
There is one other thing I am happy for. That is the number of people who have already made reservations for our Consecration Sunday dinner. As of this writing, we have 102 reservations. That is a very large number of people willing to do a new thing, a different thing than they have done at Trinity in a long, long time. Thank you for your willingness to do something you are not used to doing.
God bless you – Pastor Ron
