Building Church
The latest news on Building Church is that we gave out €1,000 at a special service - and asked people to use their talents to double it, treble it, or more, and then bring the results back to our Harvest Service on October 17th. It all happened at our summer Gift Service on 27th June. Read more about it here:
But there’s more… At the end of January 2010, at our Building Church weekend, we launched our Great Gift Challenge - the target was to complete all 21 by the time of our summer Gift Service. Several did - and many more enjoyed being part of the process. The challenges - for adults and kids alike - are all still listed here:
Those who succeeded are now facing a new challenge; at the Gift Service, they were awarded an extra €20 - but the challenge is still the same - multiply it!
“Building Church”, launched last autumn, is about how we can give our time, our skills, and ourselves - about how we get really involved in the service of Christ. The aims are simple:
- To reaffirm our commitment to Christ through St. Andrew’s by increasing our giving of time, talents and money.
- To make our church more vibrant, lively and caring, attracting others.
- To thank people for their giving - and highlight the benefits of regular, planned giving.
The project so far has involved visiting everyone connected with our church. It’s produced more people at worship, more money in the offering, and more things happening - including new pastoral family groups.
This is our Building Church prayer:
Jesus is Lord, and this is his church.
Jesus is risen, his church is alive.
His church is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is. It will be friendly, if I am.
Its seats will be filled, if I help fill them.
It will do God’s work, if I work.
It will make generous gifts, if I am a generous giver.
It will bring people into its worship and family, if I invite and bring them.
It will be a church filled with faith, with prayer and with love - if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these things.
Therefore, with the help of God, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being all the things that I want my church to be.
And I will do this for Jesus, who does all things for me.
Amen.