Saint Monica's Episcopal Church
Messenger
November 2017
From the Rector’s desk by Rev. Anthony MacWhinnie, II
It’s stewardship time at St. Monica’s. On the 5th of November we’ll be returning pledge cards to be blessed on the altar. Pledge cards are extremely useful for the vestry to be able to budget for the coming year. I’m sure you’ve heard that finances are strained at St. Monica’s. It’s very true. We incurred significant debt with the closure of Monica’s Attic, unfortunately. We’ve been juggling ever since then. Recently, we used funds procured by selling our tractor and some equipment to pay off a good chunk of it. We’re in a better place financially than we were, but we still have a long way to go. The vestry is considering selling a portion of our property that we haven’t used in the 17 years we’ve been on this land to make up the rest of our debt. As that progresses we’ll keep you informed. I want to talk a little about tithing. As you are probably aware, the biblical tithe is 10%, or your first fruits. I tithe back to the church out of my salary and the MacWhinnies try every year to increase just a little bit. What you do and how you make that decision is up to you! St. Monica’s is grateful for your tithe, no matter the size. Monetary contributions don’t make us a church. You and Jesus do. Time and talent are other ways to give to the church. If you look around for a second, there’s a ton of things that could be done at the church. One of the beautiful things about St. Monica’s is all those sets of eyes and hands. You all know things. And you all have different abilities. And you all have unique ways of seeing things! I hear and see this all the time. It’s one of the things that makes it such a joy to be your rector. Take for example, Viv. The other day she texted to let me know that some free materials were coming to the church. Maybe we could use them. Maybe we couldn’t. Either way, she saw something and did something. And it turns out to be a neat little evangelism tool that you will see lying around the church. They are called “engagers”. They’re these little folded pamphlets that are all about the
Our Staff & Vestry Rev, Anthony MacWhinnie, II, Rector Vestry: Chuck Barnett - Senior Warden Jim Warner- Junior Warden Beth Woods, Susan Early, Ann Philen & John Velaski Twinette McDonald - Music Director Sally Putters - Parish Nurse
journey to Christmas. They are probably intended for some of that “door-knocking” sort of evangelism, and if you wanted to do that, that’s fine. But, maybe just taking a few and having them around will remind you that “out there” is where we do our best Jesus work. One of our ultimate goals is to bring those that are “out there”, “in here.” Maybe it’s a stranger at a gas station… Or maybe it’s that stubborn uncle at the house... Who knows? It’s a conversation starter and an awareness raiser. And thanks to Viv employing her time and talent, we’ve got a new resource. So, please take some time to prayerfully consider your pledge to the church for this year. Keep us in your prayers as we navigate these waters. And consider your time and talent and how they can be employed here at the church. Together, we make up the church. No hands, no feet, but ours. God bless you! Anthony+