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Dear friends in Christ, I want to thank all of you who joined us in the gym last Saturday for the "Stop Hunger Now" event. It was amazing to see over 500 of you working together on this mission. We asked for 400 volunteers, and actually registered 500! Together, God used you to prepare 103,000 meals for those in need. Your desire to make a difference is inspiring! It was more than ironic that this event was the prelude to our stewardship emphasis. It was fitting to begin this season with an act of generous giving. I mentioned in my message over the weekend that the word generosity comes from the Latin generosus, which means "of noble birth." You are a people of noble birth! Generosity is a spiritual gift, according to Romans 12:8. There, along with preaching, teaching, serving, encouraging, leadership and showing mercy - generous giving is included. It is in the sharing of our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness that we best resemble the God that we love and serve. We give - not so much out of obligation - but out of joy! I want to thank our stewardship team led by Jim Perkins. They include: Jennie Stockard, Carol Bumbalough, Jennifer Wetzel, Judy Norris, Sandy Olds, Mike Coggin, and Phil Jamieson. As we look