*Please click on the photo of First UMC Elgin to the right to complete the online 2022 Estimate of Giving/Next Steps card. Thank you!
Dear Friends,
As we approach the holiday season, it brings back memories of the holiday season in 2019. As we happily celebrated with family and friends, as we sang “Silent Night” at the candlelight service, little did we know that eight weeks later, our lives would change dramatically. Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt and everything changed...how we work, how we attend school, how we function in society, and how we worship. Little things we took for granted were gone, and life became challenging on every level.
Life is starting to look a little more normal these days, but I think it’s safe to say we have all been changed by the experience. In many ways, these past two years have been a gift because the pandemic has put into sharp focus what is truly important by enabling us to experience what life would look like without the things that really matter.
I invite you to take a moment and reflect on the past two years and recall all the ways God has kept you safe, blessed you, and sustained you during these trying times. I invite you to reflect on the importance of a church family and a community of faith and what it felt like to have them missing in your life.
Church attendance has declined drastically across all faiths and denominations, and yet, it seems to me, as we assess our priorities, that church is more important than ever. So I encourage you to prayerfully consider what your faith community means to you. I ask you to consider how important our faith community could be to those who are searching.
Church is so easy to take for granted. We assume it will always be there when we need it. But we also have to ask ourselves how often are we there for the church...and for God. This year has taught us how important our gifts, our presence, our prayers, our service, and our witness are to the life of our church and to the work God calls us to do. First Church has a long, illustrious history of being a pillar of faith in our community. We have accomplished so much, yet I do not believe our work is done. We have so much more to do.
Please prayerfully consider your role in the future of our church. Also, please know that your gifts, your presence, your prayers, your service, and your witness matter very much...to your church family and to God.
Thank you,
Cindy Palm
Cindy Palm
Lay Servant & Liturgist
2021 Stewardship Campaign Chairperson
*Please click on the photo of First UMC Elgin to the right to complete the online 2022 Estimate of Giving/Next Steps card. Thank you!
