Giving Thanks (a month early!)

It is a blessing to have lots of folks to love and who love you. During the holidays, however, this can make for tricky scheduling. Paul’s and my families have always been 2000 miles away from each other, and our closest friends are scattered from coast to coast. Our shared occupation does not allow for extensive flexibility in the Christmas season, making the feat of having meaningful time with one or both of our families that much trickier.

Thus, we have become flexible with when exactly we give thanks for and gather with our family and friends. Sometimes Thanksgiving celebrations happen a week or two prior, sometimes Christmas happens a few days late.

Regardless of when the holidays and meaningful time with family and friends come, here at First Church we dive into our season of gratitude more than a month ahead of most. In October, our whole congregation celebrates the gifts that have been shared with each one of us. Each household discerns what meaningful generosity looks like to them. That discernment is then shared with the church through an annual giving estimate (also called a pledge).

One expression of generosity is through a tithe (a term that means providing 1/10th of your income). The tithe is not a magic giving formula. We do often use it as a suggestion for giving because it is Biblical, and it is meaningful.

When anyone gives a tenth of their income to the community, that is by no means loose change! No matter the level of your income, a tenth is a big deal. The important lesson from the Biblical practice of tithing is that generosity should be meaningful. It should be a big deal. For some, giving $5 a month is a big deal. It is meaningful. It makes impact on both the giver and the community. For others, giving 15% of their annual income is a big deal. It is meaningful. It makes impact on both the giver and the community.

Today I contribute about 1/10th of my income to the operations of our church. For me, this is a meaningful gift. When I was a church intern with no health benefits and significant student loan payments, 1/10th was nowhere near feasible for me. In those days, 0.5% of my intern salary was the most I could manage. Even though it wasn’t a tithe, it was meaningful. It was a big deal. It made an impact on both me and my community.

Eventually, I was able to contribute 1% of my salary. I was so excited! I could see the Spirit moving through that congregation and I was so grateful for the opportunity to share my material resources back to the faithful work of the church. That 1% made such a difference- for the energy that allowed us to have light during evening youth group, for the heat that made our emergency winter shelter possible, for the water we used to wash our hands before serving the weekly community meal.

I’m no longer an intern at Redmond UMC, but my vantage point has not changed: I can see the Spirit moving through this congregation and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my material resources back to the faithful work of this church. My 10% makes such a difference for our church- for the energy that allows us to run our worship livestream, for the heat that allows our campus to be a gathering space for the community, for the water we use to wash our hands when staffing the food pantry or preparing coffee hour.

Your generosity makes a difference, too. You may not be as excited about covering the utilities as I am (if you signed our monthly utility bills you might be, though). Happily, there are so many ways your generosity makes a significant impact. Through outreach partnerships, our beautiful campus, discipleship programs, the sweet sounds of music, and all the people and teams who support these, your gift to this community is meaningful. I’d love to hear your stories- why do you give? What parts of our community do you impact? Why is it meaningful to you?

Because of what meaningful generosity looks like to you, First Church gives thanks.

With gratitude,

Pastor Karyn

If you’re ready to submit your 2025 pledge (annual giving estimate),

you can do so here: https://www.fumcpdx.org/pledge