A Financial Narrative for December 2018
As the year winds down, First Church’s finance committee s looking at the conclusion to this year and the start of a new one. The brightest spot of the 2018 budget is that you have been generously paying your pledges at 100%! Knowing how much income we can expect, and being confident that you will be providing us that income throughout the year really helps in our budgeting process.
As we approach the end of the year, it looks like we are on track to finish within our budget. But an additional part of that budget assumes that in the spirit of Christmas, people may choose to give more generously at the end of the year. So as you plan for gifts to your family and friends this Christmas, please also consider an extra gift to your church family..
As we look forward to 2019 we are continuing to count on your generous support to keep your church actively pursuing God’s mission in the world through our ministries and programs.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has already turned in your 2019 pledge card. (And if you haven’t done so already, there is still time.) It is the faithful generosity of our members, constituents and friends that has allowed us to continue in our ministry in Wausau.
Wes Ebert, Finance Committee chair
Note from Pastor Jayneann: In the next couple weeks , I will be mailing you a Christmas letter, a tradition in many churches. Enclosed with it will be an envelope you might use for your special Christmas offering.
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We will be using poinsettias and greens to decorate our Sanctuary for Christmas. If you would like to donate toward one or more flowers, the cost is $10 (small) & $20
(large) per plant – but any amount is welcome. About 30 of the poinsettias will be given to homebound members of our congregation on December 16th.
Please fill out the form below and put it in the offering plate, mail it, or bring it to the Church Office, along with your check. We will need to have your orders by no later than December 10th. On December 16th we will list the names of those remembered or honored in our worship bulletin.
Please print
Name: _______________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________
In Memory / In Honor of (circle one)
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Total Donation: $__________
Make checks payable to First United Methodist Church
Memo line: Christmas flowers and/or decorations
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 Some of you have faithfully been writing checks to pay down the loan on the church’s parking lot. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Yes, we’re still taking funds for this excellent cause. You can write a separate check, or write a single one and identify how the money is to be split. Either way, we appreciate your contribution toward the physical structures of our church. Thank you, again!
Beautify the Church Office
Did your Norfolk Island Pine get too big for the room while it was outside all summer? Would you like to gift it to a location where people will truly appreciate it? The church office is looking for just such a plant. Call or email Joan at the office to talk about giving your plant a new home.
Help Your Church Do Ministry
Would you like to give of yourself to the church but don’t know how? Do you have a secondary laptop (Windows 10 or newer) at home that you could gift to our ministries? This could be your way to serve the First United Methodist Church is in need of one (or possibly two) laptops. The “Volunteer” computer in the office is old enough that it can’t do the work asked of it. The laptop attached to the projector uses Window 3 and does not support newer PowerPoints or videos.
Mission Giving Without Pain
UMW collects Kwik Trip bottle caps, pull tabs and “box tops for education” for missions. Kwik Trip caps go to Harbor House, a UMW sponsored women’s shelter, “box tops for education” are sent to Redbird Mission in Kentucky, and pull tabs are sent to Ronald McDonald House. For your convenience there are collection baskets in the parlor. And remember, aluminum cans are collected for our own mission trip.
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