"And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house." (Deut. 26:10)

Pledging pays the day-to-day expenses of the parish - heat, lights, salaries and supplies. However these mundane but necessary expenses are merely a physical manifestation of the true beneficiary of our giving - the deepening of our Christian faith and love of God.

Pledging is not an act of giving, as much as an act of thanksgiving. Each Sunday we sing, "all things come of thee, O Lord." And what greater gift did God give us but the sacrifice of His only son, our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we would not die, but have eternal life?

 In his letter to the Romans, Paul challenges the early Christians to give themselves as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1). Some of the ways we do this are putting our trust in God, praising him and giving thanks, following Jesus and making his teachings known, and using our gifts in God's service.

Our support of the church makes it possible to preserve a place to worship God, to remember Christ's sacrifice through the Eucharist and to spread the Christian message by helping those in need. That is why when we make a pledge we are not just supporting our parish - we are nurturing our own spiritual growth and the growth of the Spirit throughout our community and the world.