This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well! For 75 years, St. Martin's has faithfully gathered together in the name of Jesus to worship and serve. Together, we make up a faithful community of friends, families, and loved ones. We celebrate together, mourn together, and break bread together as we navigate the journey of living our lives as followers of Jesus. St. Martin's is a special community and a special place. It is a place that Denise and I truly love, and that love grows year after year.

As we enter into this stewardship season, I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you for pledging to St. Martin's. Together, your gifts to our annual stewardship drive fund our church's mission and ministries. They fund our beautiful worship and our service as we seek to live into our call to love God and our neighbor. Please prayerfully consider your giving to our church.

This year we are also beginning a capital campaign. I do not believe a church should carry debt or pay interest. That said, when the roof of our parish hall suffered a "catastrophic failure," our hands were tied. We seek to end that debt. We are also striving to repair, maintain, and improve our beautiful organ. Every musician will tell you that an instrument is an investment, and over time, instruments need work. Our instrument just happens to be much larger than most. Finally, we are seeking to build a true endowment to support the ongoing maintenance a 75-year-old campus needs. St. Martin's has never been able to truly have a 5-year plan for the care of our buildings and facilities. It's time. Just like Denise and I try to put money away to maintain the place where we live, our church needs to do the same. Each repair should not be an emergency or a moment of panic. We can do it! Because of our stewardship campaign, our financial footing is strong. From that place of strength, we can truly look towards the next 75 years. Please prayerfully consider participating.

Denise and I have had many deep conversations about what St. Martin's means to us. It's where we raised our family. And truthfully, it is the place where I want to be buried one day. It is our spiritual home. We've made the decision to maintain our pledge, and we have given seed money for the capital campaign. Our gifts are by no means the largest, but they represent the love and hope we have for this community. To those who have given, thank you! To everyone else, I hope you will consider joining us in giving to St. Martin's as we enter into our next 75 years.

Peace,

Mitch