Dear friends and congregation members of Augustana,
Each year, we as a congregation take a few weeks to consider how we can contribute our time, talents, and other resources to Augustana and its ministry. This year, the Stewardship committee would like to dedicate our Stewardship weeks to reminding us why we support our church. There are so many worthy causes and communities which rely on our congregation members. However, Augustana is unique in many ways. This year we highlight one: the unique brand of Christian fellowship found at Augustana.
Fellowship at Augustana includes worship and community with our brothers and sisters in Christ who share not only common concerns for our city and world, but also a firm belief that God’s healing and redemptive love should play a central role in all we do. As individuals, it can be easy to lose sight of our core Christian values; to be driven instead by self-interest, or to respond to the hatred of our broken world with more hatred. But as a church, our common faith is what binds us together.
In that spirit, we challenge you to consider, over the coming Stewardship weeks: how does Augustana act as a place of fellowship for you, and how we together can use our talents and resources to make it a better one?
In addition to the usual appeals we make this time of year—to reflect on how you may serve and contribute to Augustana for the coming year—we have one special appeal: that you help strengthen Augustana as a place of love, service, and faith. This can include voicing your thoughts on how we can foster greater fellowship, getting to know someone you do not normally speak to at Augustana, or helping one of our visitors feel welcome.
Maintaining a strong community requires active effort, when so many of us pass through Hyde Park only briefly. During stewardship weeks on November 10th and November 17th, we will be making some small additions to our normal worship services in order to help facilitate that.
The strength of that community, and the tremendous generosity of our congregants, has helped us weather some difficult times together. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our finance committee, we can rest assured that our resources are being responsibly administered and put to their best use. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, we have the maintained the resources necessary to meet our needs.
We humbly and graciously ask you to continue that generosity in your pledges for the coming year, as we continue our work to make this such a special place.
In Christ,
Your Stewardship Committee
Max Kellogg (Chair), Carol Albright, Celeste Garrett, Manoj Gunthoti, Jim Vondracek
PS: An excellent fellowship opportunity is just around the corner! We will be hosting our annual Oktoberfest potluck celebration after church on the 27th, including homemade bratwurst, pretzels and beer. Please consider signing up to contribute a side dish!
Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park 