Ann Hester Willis

There was a time when I gave money to the church as I felt inclined.  Based upon how generous I was feeling at the moment, how much money I seemed to have “left over,” and what fit comfortably in my budget without displacing all of those other “essential” needs, I would put a check in the plate and feel good about myself.  Then one day the leader of the Bible study I was in (the wife of a priest, but not a priest at St. Michael’s Church), made an impassioned speech about members of the parish taking care of their clergy.  It was in conjunction with studying the Old Testament and God’s setting aside the Levites as priests who would not work for their upkeep but depend upon the sacrifices and offerings of those whom they serve.  (That is my memory of the gist of the Old Testament passages).  Suddenly I felt convicted by God to tithe.  It was an intense realization that God expected me to put Him first in my life and as a reminder of that I needed to give Him my “first fruits,” the FIRST 10% of my earnings, and that my needs would fall in line thereafter.  Tithing has become mandatory for me as a result of that moment of conviction.  I have no doubt that God was speaking to me and I clearly felt that He was directing me to give the tithe to the church for it to use in His wisdom to further God’s kingdom on this earth.  I have been tithing as a result for over 10 years now, and in retrospect it has not been hard.  I have made changes in my lifestyle, but I have found these changes to be a welcome relief and not the sacrifice that I had anticipated. I have come to understand that God’s message was a very personal one to me, and perhaps His will is different for others. But He has blessed me with the absolute resolve to tithe without even questioning it.  I joyfully give and trust the leadership of the church to use it as they are led by the Holy Spirit.  I believe that I am commanded by Him to tithe, to give that tithe to God through His church and to fully trust Him with it.  In other words, to let it go.  Tithing has become a cornerstone of my faith and I have been blessed abundantly as a result.
William C. Wilson

The Church needs everyone’s support.  The power of the Church comes from the measurable attendance, attending to the business of our Lord.  The life blood of our Church is the fullness of our pulse.  The wider spread the support, the stronger the pulse, the greater life–giving strength we have.  Our Church wants to be a whole body where in all our parts are functioning.  We need everyone, we need you.

Why do I give?  I want to do my part.  I want to thank the Lord for all that He has given me.  I want to do for others as He has done for me.  I want to get away from my self-centered self and think of non-self things.  I want to invest in a high minded institution, be a part of it, and claim a portion of it for my own.  I want to thank the Church for teaching me about spiritual things, about grace and forgiveness and love, about living life to the fullest.  When I give of my own, I feel connected and significant and blessed.

Why should you give?  For some or all of these same reasons.  Whether it is a small amount or medium or large, we want you to know the joy of giving, of committing a portion to God, and the exhilaration in being a part of the effort.  We need everyone, and we especially need you.

Dear Lord, We need you to touch us all again, teach us the joy in giving of thine own back to you, help us to free ourselves of self-centeredness, remind us once more that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  All this we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Dale Finkbine

I feel that I have been very blessed my whole  life.  As a child I was involved in church and my parents raised me to give to the church on a regular basis.  I felt that you gave what you could and I really didn’t make it a conscious gift other than “what I thought I could afford”.   The size of the gift really didn’t matter to me but I continued to give.  As I grew older and became more aware of the blessings I was receiving it became very aware to me that the gifts I was receiving weren’t of my doing but of the Lord.  Ellen and I have always said that there are no such things as coincidences, only “God incidences”.   I had always read about the tithe as being the measure of giving but had not put that into a measureable amount until Rick Belser gave a sermon concerning the tithe.   Rick said  it was 10% of our income and that it should be given from the first of our fruits and not what is leftover.  This opened my eyes tremendously and Ellen and I continued to talk about striving to get to the tithe.  One year we just made up our mind that this was going to be the year and we went by faith and made the commitment.  It really didn’t seem to matter to us that we had one child in college and three more about to go but felt that the Lord was certainly worth it.  As I continue to look around, I realize that I don’t have any problem with giving a waiter or waitress at least 15% tip for what they have done for me in one meal.  How can it be that I would  even think about giving the Lord 10% for what he has for me in my lifetime?  My life continues to be blessed even more and I have to admit that even when I am not sure if I have the funds to make the pledge there is always  an abundance available.

Julie Marjenhoff Akers

All of my life I have been blessed by God.  I was born in a Christian home with two parents and a sister that loved me unconditionally.  My parents always told me I was blessed and deep down in my heart I knew it was true.  In my adult life, I became a nurse and have a successful career, but my bills were usually more than my paycheck.  My parents had been tithing for years and I knew friends who were tithing, but I just gave what I felt was necessary on Sundays.  Over the last several years when the world was suffering with financial hardships, I was blessed to have received a raise during my evaluations at work.  During the tithing teaching series last year, I began to pray and reflect upon all the blessings in my life and how I should invest my money as an offering to God.  Signing that pledge card and making a commitment to tithe 10 percent of my income has been another step in becoming closer to God and doing what Moses told the Israelites in Leviticus 27:30 “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord.”