Supporting the Church During a Pandemic

Supporting the Church During a Pandemic

Woodmont just celebrated its 77th birthday. Our church was planted on July 18, 1943. I am glad to report that we finished last fiscal year (ending June 30th) in a healthy financial position, in the black. This is certainly a tribute to the generosity of Woodmont during this ongoing pandemic.

We are maintaining a flat operating budget moving into the new year and are asking everybody to continue supporting the church at the same level as this past year. So far, our new church year (began July 1st) is off to a much slower start. July giving has been low. Part of this is summer and part of this is this the Covid pandemic dragging on.

I just want to remind everybody of the spiritual discipline of Christian stewardship and tithing, continuing to support the mission of the church during these times. Here are some of Jesus’ core teachings about money that come straight from the Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 5:19-21)

“Nobody can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth.” (Matt 5:24)

Jesus didn’t teach and talk about money to raise money for a cause. Jesus talked about money because he knew it was and still is the number one substitute for God. We live in a culture that worships and glorifies money, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “It’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil.” Money is neutral. It’s what we do with our money that matters. Two things speak loudly of our priorities in life: where we spend our time and our money. How we spend our time and our money indicates our priorities. For Megan and me, our top giving priority by far is the mission and ministry of Woodmont Christian Church. We believe in everything that this church does even during these challenging times. But here’s the truth: Woodmont can only do what we collectively enable it to do. So we all must keep supporting this church even during this pandemic. Giving matters. Stewardship matters.

The Woodmont Board will meet next Monday, July 27th. LA Galyon is now the Chair and Pam Richardson is the chair elect. We will discuss where we are in terms of reopening the building and making plans for moving back into the sanctuary and Drowota Hall. We are trying very hard to balance moving forward with keeping our members healthy and safe. We will continue to communicate what is decided at that meeting. Thank you for continuing to support Woodmont. Thank you for being a part of this church family!

Blessings,

-Clay

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