Time for our annual check-up

I’ve worked on the operations side of health care for the past 11 years, and I grew up on a small farm in northeastern North Carolina. As I reflect on All Saints’ Annual Giving Campaign, I realize there’s a connection between my life experiences. 

We have a few physicians among our parishioners at All Saints’. They would tell you that an annual check-up is key to long-term good health. I’ve come to view the annual giving campaign as a check-up of sorts. I know some of us tend to have a little fun with the campaign. We may roll our eyes and think, “Here ‘they’ come again asking for more money.” (“They” happen to be our friends and fellow parishioners charged with the financial health of our church.) In truth, the charitable request is only one piece of what’s taking place. The Annual Giving Campaign encourages us to reexamine our relationships with money, material possessions, the church, and ultimately God. Truth be known, I may squirm and dread this experience a bit; but – comparable to an annual physical – I’ve come to realize that it’s good for my spiritual health in more ways than one. 

So, what’s the connection with growing up on a farm? I’ve always been close to the land and natural resources. I believe they are fundamental gifts from God. I grew up in a little country church in which people prayed for rain and bountiful harvests. I witnessed my father continue to place an envelope in the offering plate each Sunday no matter how the crops fared. Although my theology has evolved over the years, I hold the fundamental belief that all things truly come from God. What I do with the physical, intellectual, and spiritual gifts that God provides is my choice. 

During this check-up that we call an annual campaign, I pray you’ll recognize the opportunity in front of us. God has blessed our church this year. The early service has gained more children and young families. Attendance has increased at the later service recently. Our physical plant and natural campus have undergone noticeable enhancements. The Koinonia process motivated parishioners to seize new community outreach opportunities by starting three new ministries to help people in the community beyond All Saints’. 

As you reexamine your relationships during this campaign, I encourage you to respond to God’s blessings with bold giving. Let’s band together to eliminate deficit spending now before our reserves are depleted. Stretch your giving. If you give $100 per month, determine if your circumstances can support a monthly contribution of $125, $150 or more. Regardless of your current giving level, let’s all strive for a significant increase this year to place our church on firm financial footing as we continue to grow. May we all return a portion to the God from whom all blessings flow as generously as God has blessed our church over the past year.

Randy Brantley