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On this day we call “Legacy Sunday,” let me say to you, “Thank you for being found faithful.” Amy and I often use these words, playing on Jesus’s commendation of the servant in his parable: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25). We have so often had the opportunity to thank you for being found faithful. We use those words especially to commend your faithful stewardship – and on Legacy Sunday we remember those whose faithfulness extends beyond this life and into their eternity with God. Following worship, we will gather in our Legacy Garden just outside the sanctuary and call three more faithful names.
It's not just in legacy that you have been found faithful. As a smaller church, we have been able to do some rather grand things because of your generosity. Today we want to share with you so we can celebrate together another generous gift. We have announced what we hope to become a long-term relationship with Mars Hill Baptist Church. We want to be involved in hurricane relief efforts not just in this moment of immediate need, but so that two months from now – and two years from now, when the news cycle has moved on but some of the poor folks up in those hidden hollows of the mountains are still trying to recover, we might be a part of their help. This past week we received a designated gift in the amount of $50,000 to aid in our efforts.
We have the money – now we just need faithful hands and feet on the ground. Our first trip is scheduled for next Wed, November 6. We will go to Mars Hill and work wherever they deem the need to be greatest and most accessible to our group. Allyson and Will Neeriemer have graciously offered their home in the mountains, so at least on this mission trip, we will all have beds and showers for Wednesday and Thursday nights! [Note: As you read this, six Park Roadians are working in Mars Hill.]
With the example of today’s Legacy givers and this anonymous gift for disaster relief, let me remind you that the best work we do in missions and ministry might be right here on the corner of Park and Ashcraft – being community to one another and opening our campus to be a hive of activity seven days a week.
We are still running a little behind in our giving for this year – and we are about to announce to you an Annual Ministry Plan for 2025. [Note: You will receive a letter next week.] We need your best stewardship so we can be the best church we can be – in the excitement of the big things, and in the important work that happens here every day of the year. You know what you can give... we hope you will.
You may have noticed that we no longer take up an offering during worship. That went by the wayside with COVID precautions – and as I have told you before, I think this is as it should be. Stewardship is not about our asking you for money. Stewardship is about the initiative that you take. If you want this church to remain strong… if you want us to continue to offer our unique voice on the corner of Park and Ashcraft… it will be because of your initiative.
There are plates at the back of each aisle. You pass them when you come into worship and when you leave. You can write a check (if you still use those!) You can give online. You can use your phone and text your gift (704-800-3901).
If we are to continue to be the church God is calling us to be in this corner of Charlotte, it is up to you.
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