Rod and I recently were guests at the 37th Annual National Philanthropy Day luncheon hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Southern Arizona. Yes, there is such an association. The theme of the event was “Change the World with a Giving Heart.” Talk about a stewardship message. We certainly couldn't walk out of there without being uplifted. The honorees ranged from Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy to Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser to Outstanding Professional Fundraiser. Each award winner spoke from the heart about the joy they find in giving back. One mentioned that he considered himself a “match maker”, pairing donors with projects and/or charities they are passionate about.
I couldn't help but think about our recent Mission Investment campaign. Yes, for many of you who have been in the church for years, you may remember it as Pledge Sunday, or maybe Commitment Sunday. More recently, it has been called the Generosity Campaign. Pastor Randy encouraged us to consider our annual giving as an “investment” in the mission and programming here at Lord of Grace.
The Stewardship Team based our theme this year on Romans 12:10-13. We focused on joyful, hopeful, faithful, grateful, and generosity. To put that in perspective we
Joyful for the Spirit here at Lord of Grace;
Hopeful for all that God has in store for us as we move forward;
Faithful that God is working here to help us carry out our mission statement;
Grateful for the leadership of Pastor Randy during this interim period; and through the
Generosity of the congregation, we celebrate the advantage of no mortgage as we look
toward 2026 and all we can accomplish.
On behalf of the Stewardship Team, I want to thank those of you who did fill out a Mission Investment card. This helps our financial team to have a base income budgetary projection. More importantly, it helps you and me focus our intention to give our meager offerings back to God. I say meager because He has blessed us all with such an abundance that what we offer back is meager in comparison.
It is through God's abundance to each of us that we can truly Change the World with a Giving Heart. Each day brings new blessings and new opportunities to change the world. I pray that Lord of Grace embraces this slogan and that as we move forward in transition we all joyfully return a portion of those blessings to Him.
Wise men (and women) do still seek Him. May you find peace and joy in the preparation of Advent and in the stillness of Christmas Eve, may the Christ Child come.
Betsy Boorse,
Stewardship Team Co-Chair