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Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2, NRSV

As we begin our annual Stewardship pledge appeal, I am asking you to pray about your annual financial giving. Please consider increasing your pledge this year. As costs rise around us, our church expenses are also rising. I appeal to you to increase your contribution amount to help us sustain this church, our church. When you bring your pledge card to the altar at St. John’s on October 20th, I invite you to Walk in Love.

Generosity is a journey, it’s a practice that we learn and nurture within our hearts. It just isn’t in our nature to give away what we have worked hard to acquire or to donate our precious time without compensation. It takes something as radical as Love to inspire us to share our time, talent, and treasure with others. This is a journey we make together, a Walk in Love.

As we have lived with the Gospel this year, we have been brought into a world turned radically upside down. The laws and customs that had been in place for centuries were challenged, power and dominion have been questioned, and a culture hemmed in from all sides by oppression and subjection desperately seeks a way forward. 

As it turns out, it is not cultural pluralism, political polarization, or social media that causes the change in society, but the simplest concept of Love. Jesus causes a revolution of thought and heart by daring to reach out to the outcast and teach others to do the same. He walks in love with the marginalized, with the poor, with the sick, and brings us along with him on his journey. 

The most miraculous gift of Love is that it was there within us all along, all we had to do was find it, tap into it, and begin growing it. And look what happened? We learned to share, to give, to volunteer, to accompany others, to feed, to pray, to visit, to strive for change. Our Harvest Fair supports many charities in our community that need our love. I ask you to fully support the fair on October 19th. Help us to help others. 

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan