An Annual Giving Campaign Reflection
October 6, 2024
by Michael Quillen
When my wife, Mary Jim, and I moved to Staunton nine years ago, one of our priorities
was to find a church home. We visited several churches and ultimately decided to join
Trinity even though we had spent almost all of our married life together as Presbyterians. Several things drew us here. The music, the liturgy, the Bible study that
I had already joined, and the outreach in Honduras were just some of the aspects of the church that we found appealing.
But there’s an interesting thing about joining a church. Despite the fact that there are
grounds and buildings that members before us had acquired and constructed, a staff to care for us and enrich us spiritually, and ongoing maintenance and operational expenses, we didn’t have to pay an initiation fee and, frankly, didn’t have to pay anything to join or attend. Some would say that’s not a good business model.
But all of us here are going about God’s business, not a business that some entrepreneur started and that is operated to generate a monetary profit quarter after
quarter. God’s business is about love and salvation. God’s love and salvation are worth
more than any human possession that any of us could buy. What a treasure!
So, what a small price it is to contribute generously to the glory of God through our
annual pledge to Trinity. What a bargain! Our pledges and contributions support AJ and Cara who are doing such a tremendous job in shepherding us through our spiritual journey. They support Gen and the magnificent choir whose music inspires us and brings us closer to God. They maintain this beautiful sanctuary, parish house, and
rectory that stand here in the middle of Staunton as a tribute to God. They support our
outreach in Honduras, Haiti, and right here in Staunton through noon lunches and
SACRA. They support our exploding youth program. And the more we contribute, the
more outreach we can accomplish both in improving the physical lives of others and in improving their spiritual lives as well.
Our stewardship theme this year is “Where the Heart Is”. This is based on Matthew 6:21
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Treasure can be just money sitting in a bank account, or power, or fame, or attention.
All of these vie for the attention of our hearts. This fall, and at all times, let us try to turn
our hearts to God, and let our treasure follow our hearts.
