Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ!
Imagine my surprise and intense delight. I just came back from two weeks of vacation out West, which followed officiating at a mountain top wedding in Montana for one of St. James young adults (blessings to Andrew and Anna Burgoyne).
Travel westward always seems to reawaken my spirit. Every peak proclaims the majesty and magnificence of God. Hiking through lush forests and across vast valleys, I joined the song. My vacation time away provided a great charge to diminished batteries.
I returned to the church office on Monday, refreshed and ready to go. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my joy would only be increased. When Doreen shared the “big news” I ran around the table in office. Wooo hooo!!!
Thanks to the generosity of the St. James community, our ALL HANDS on DEBT campaign to make the final payments on the mortgage was successful. For the first time in memorable history, St. James Lutheran is debt-free!
What joy! Many thanks to all those who participated in the gathering of financial gifts and to our anonymous donor whose gift made the match challenge possible. Completing the All Hands on Debt campaign two months ahead of schedule frees up additional resources for ministry.
If you didn’t get a chance yet to contribute and would like to do so, we will continue to receive gifts. As we mentioned ahead of time, money received in excess of the goal will be used for capital expenses. We need to replace the screens in the sanctuary and make upgrades to our sound system. During our COVID online ministry, we had to shift from analogue to digital technology. This means we can no longer use our screens that date back to the 1990s. We are in the process of assessing costs and will let you know as soon as we know.
In the meanwhile, we are committed to sharing a tithe (10%) to mission partners of ALL monies received for the All Hands On Debt campaign. 5% will go towards the construction costs of a medical dispensary in Idunda, Tanzania and 5% will support local food pantries in Scott and Dakota counties.
I look forward to seeing you in worship this Sunday, July 25, to announce this historic accomplishment. We are in early stages of planning a formal “debt-retirement” celebration once we return from our summer schedule. More information to follow.
Sunday marks the merger of our online and in-person worships. At 9:30 a.m. we are back in the sanctuary with a livestream broadcast. At 8:00 a.m. worship will be in the parking lot using our summer Drive-In format. Please come and share in the joy of these special days full of praise and promise.
Photo taken on the top of Big Mountain, Whitefish Montana - site of Andrew and Anna Burgoyne’s wedding.
In Christ’s Light,
Pastor Walt