My Christian Stewardship 2026
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Stewardship Letter – November 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Greetings to you in the blessed name of Jesus – our Lord and our Savior! Each year in November, St. Paul’s turns its attention to the subject of Christian stewardship. Stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God’s family, the Church, in managing all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes. Through this attention we hope to encourage good stewardship decisions by our individual members and practice good stewardship in our life together as a congregation.
Click here for our Service Opportunities and My Commitment 2026 forms: My Christian Stewardship 2026
Our theme for this year’s stewardship emphasis, Faith and Love Increasing, comes from 2 Thessalonians 1:3 – “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” The sermons on November 2, 9 and 16th will expand on this theme, with Sunday, Nov. 16, serving as our annual Commitment Sunday – the day we ask our members and friends to share their intentions for giving in the coming year.
When our members and friends give generously of their time, talents and financial resources, St. Paul’s can continue to be a place where faith is nourished by means of Word and Sacrament and where our love and care for each other and our neighbors continues to grow.
When thinking about your financial giving, please consider the Biblical wisdom of setting aside a portion of your time and income for God’s work through the church, often called a “tithe.” Percentage giving is an excellent way to “give as the Lord has given to you” (Deut. 16:17). Many of us know the blessings of giving ten percent or even more. Please prayerfully consider where God is leading you with regard to your financial gifts to His kingdom work at St. Paul’s.
Regarding your giving of time and talents, we ask you to please consider participating in one or more of the Service Opportunities listed on the separate page of this mailing. Most of you are serving in at least one such way already. And certainly all of us are serving the Lord in our homes, jobs and communities. But serving through the church meets important needs and brings unique blessings. If you’re not already serving with us, please consider adding a commitment of service to your schedule and let us know of your intention.
To indicate your giving intentions for the coming year, we ask that you please fill out and return the enclosed My Christian Stewardship 2026 form. If you have questions about the form or any of the service items, please contact our church leadership.
As for stewarding our life together, church leadership is currently preparing our budget, identifying candidates for next year’s leaders, and recruiting needed volunteers. Please know that the commitments you indicate on the My Christian Stewardship form will help us in these efforts. Our proposed budget and ballot of leaders will be prepared by the Church Council and voted upon at the December 7 Voter’s Meeting.
Last year the congregation approved some budget adjustments to align our expenses more closely with expected income. This year we are on the cusp of closing the land sale and receiving the proceeds, which will enable many exciting new ministry opportunities. To assist in identifying and pursuing these opportunities, St. Paul’s is renewing its strategic planning effort to discern how we can best use our resources in the mission of the Gospel.
Until the sale is completed, however, we face a continuing and substantial monthly mortgage payment on the 2012 building improvements in addition to our regular budgeted expenses. While the end of 2025 finds us in a stronger financial position than last year due to your faithful financial commitment, we continue to see contributions lag a bit behind what is needed to fully fund our budget and mortgage payments.
In light of these needs of our congregation, and in light of your own need and ability to give, please, again, prayerfully consider how much you can contribute to our work together in the coming year and share this on the My Commitment Form. You may bring the form to our worship services on November 16, drop it off in the office, send it via mail, or email it to our Business Manager (Businessmanager@stpaulsfallschurch.org).
On behalf of the entire congregation, we thank you for your partnership in the mission of our Lord through St. Paul’s. Together we are sharing the life-changing good news of God’s love for all people in Christ Jesus. May God bless us in our stewardship of His gifts and in our life together as His people.
Pastor Mark Shaltanis and the Board of Stewardship
