The many ways in which God’s work is carried out through the hands of this congregation never cease to amaze me. Just when I think I have seen everything, another person or group steps forward to meet a need within the church or the wider community. If 1st Lutheran were no longer here, would our community notice? The answer is absolutely yes. At the same time, providing ministry is not without its challenges. As the Stewardship Committee notes elsewhere in this newsletter, supporting a full-time pastor at our current level of giving would be a significant challenge. If we are honest with ourselves, for the past 8–10 years we have only been able to sustain that model with the help of our financial reserves. Given the shortage of ordained clergy today, we must also ask whether a full-time pastor is even realistically available. Should we begin exploring alternative ways of providing pastoral leadership and care? How can we continue to remain vibrant, faithful, and helpful within our community? What new and meaningful approaches to ministry might God be calling us to consider? These are important questions that we as a congregation will need to discuss and discern together in the months ahead. I encourage each of us to prayerfully reflect on these matters as we continue doing God’s work with our hands. —Ted
Goal to Support Pastor
Full-time Pastor Funding Update -- At the end of our September 2025 fiscal year, our offering totaled $161,174. The Congregation Council was concerned that offering amounts for 2025-26 might be challenging since we did not have a pastor salary to cover in 2025-26. The Congregation Council decided to set $161,174 as a goal for congregation members to achieve for 2025-26 in order to prove we could afford a full-time pastor.
Congratulations! Your offering contributions through April have been $82,076. However, we are short of our goal by $1,706 per month. This means that if we were paying salary for a full-time pastor, we would have had to borrow $11,942 so far. If we are going to catch up and achieve our goal, our average offering beginning May 1st through September needs to be $15,820 per month. An average of $172 per month from each family member unit.
We ask you to prayerfully consider your offering gifts over the next five months to help us achieve our goal.
Thank you,
Your First Lutheran Congregation Council
Goal to Support Pastor
Full-time Pastor Funding Update -- At the end of our September 2025 fiscal year, our offering totaled $161,174. The Congregation Council was concerned that offering amounts for 2025-26 might be challenging since we did not have a pastor salary to cover in 2025-26. The Congregation Council decided to set $161,174 as a goal for congregation members to achieve for 2025-26 in order to prove we could afford a full-time pastor.
Congratulations! Your offering contributions through April have been $82,076. However, we are short of our goal by $1,706 per month. This means that if we were paying salary for a full-time pastor, we would have had to borrow $11,942 so far. If we are going to catch up and achieve our goal, our average offering beginning May 1st through September needs to be $15,820 per month. An average of $172 per month from each family member unit.
We ask you to prayerfully consider your offering gifts over the next five months to help us achieve our goal.
Thank you,
Your First Lutheran Congregation Council