growin g a
ministry of belonging
Luther Memorial Church Annual Stewardship Pledge for 2014
Our goal is to make relational ministry parallel with our ministries of worship and outreach
October 2013
Beloved in Christ, In my first five years as your senior pastor, I have met countless people drawn to the beauty of Luther Memorial’s classic liturgy, our beautiful building, wonderful music, solid preaching and dedicated outreach. Many visit; some stay and eventually join. In fact, we have received 193 new members over our first five years together. However, in those same five years, I also know people who, though drawn to the beauty of Luther Memorial’s classic liturgy, our beautiful building, wonderful music, solid preaching and dedicated outreach, have struggled to find a personal connection among us. They stay awhile, participate rarely, and sometimes drift away. We rejoice in the new members of our parish and offer our care and concern to those who visit among us. Yet, to me it’s critical that we give greater attention to growing our relational life within Luther Memorial Church. We need to deepen our common baptismal calling to live Christ’s crucified and risen life together. With this in mind, I’ve been thinking and praying about our congregation’s relational life. Much of what we do beyond worship is good and commendable. And I’m deeply grateful for your commitment, creativity and contributions in growing our life together. Yet I think we need to do more for the benefit of those seeking more—whether they are new, have yet to arrive or have been here for years. As we continue to discern our parish’s vocation in 2014, it’s imperative we increase our common commitment to what I’m calling the “ministry of belonging.” Let us rededicate our gifts, our energy, our time and our financial resources toward building a more deliberate and strategic interpersonal ministry of belonging: a ministry which integrates new and longtime members into a more dynamic and intentional practice of worship, study, service and community life together. Our goal is make relational ministry parallel with our ministries of worship and outreach. To support such a goal in 2014, we will need to reconfigure some of our existing budget resources (including some staff responsibilities) and increase our overall giving by 5%. Together, I believe we can do this.
If we do, next year we can increase the number of: • New members intentionally connected to our ministries • Parishioners actively involved in the life of our church • Personal pastoral contacts • Small group clusters: book groups, Bible studies, interest groups I believe that together we can grow our ministry of belonging. By doing this, I believe we will greatly rejoice in the continued renewal of Christ’s life and ministry among us. As we move forward, I ask for your financial support, your prayers and your full participation. For generations, Luther Memorial was known as the downtown church with the open doors. This is still who we are. Our hospitality continues to shape our identity. This is the church’s vocation, our congregation’s calling, our ministry.
2014 goal: increase your pledge by
5
Let us continue to grow in Christ’s interconnected life, the relational membership of Christ’s sacramental body.
The Reverend Franklin Arthur Wilson Senior Pastor P. S. Please prayerfully consider increasing your gift and pledge to Luther Memorial by 5% next year. Some of us may be able to give more; others may not. But no matter our circumstances, I thank each of us for our contributions to our congregation’s ministry.
I believe that together we can grow our ministry of belonging
%
growin g a
ministry of belonging
Luther Memorial Church ∙ 1021 University Avenue ∙ Madison, Wisconsin 53715
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