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​​“So let the love of Jesus come and set thy soul ablaze

to give and give and give again what God hath given thee”

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The 1982 Hymnal, Hymn 9: “Not Here for High and Holy Things”

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St. Catherine of Siena famously said, "Be who God made you to be, and you will set the world on fire." Taken on its own, that begs the question: who has God made us to be? Is God's best for us to be successful in our careers and faithful in our families? Is it God's design for us to retire well enough to live out our lives in leisure and security? Many of us who have pursued such goals will confess that it is never enough. We are never successful enough or secure enough. The target is always moving. 

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When Jesus tells his disciples to give to God the things that bear God's image (Matthew 22:15-22), he's making a startling claim about what it means to be human. According to Jesus, we are most fully human, we best reflect the image of God, when we are giving. We actually know this to be true from personal experience. Generous individuals report greater fulfillment and purpose, stronger social connections, and improved mental and physical health.

 

The soul ablaze, fully alive in Jesus, is the generous soul that gives, and gives, and gives again, as the hymn says. This is the essence of what it means to be Christlike, to be Christian: to love God and our neighbor to such a degree that we give without counting the cost. 

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I know that stewardship campaigns can begin to sound the same each year, but I've come to recognize that the perpetual invitation to give of ourselves is at the heart of what it means to be Christian and what it ultimately means to be human. To deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus means we need to be ready to sacrifice and to give and to do it again and again, because only when we give of ourselves are we truly alive. And when we give ourselves generously to the life and ministry of the Church, our generosity becomes more than a financial contribution. It becomes an expression of who God created us to be, and a means by which the love of Jesus transforms lives.​

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As we look ahead to 2027, we do so with immense gratitude for your generosity and God's ongoing provision and blessing of our parish. We continue to experience growth across the board in attendance, baptisms, confirmations, and participation in Christian formation for children and adults. St. David's is bursting at the seams and defying what the average Episcopal Church looks like. Glory to God! ​

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As we prepared to move into our new church, consultants and church growth experts all told us the same thing: financial support often lags behind growth. Churches that are expanding ministries and transforming lives with the Good News of Jesus are expending more resources, but often doing so with the same (or sometimes less) income than they projected to bring in. 

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Many of you have been so faithful in your support of our parish. Others have joined us in the past year or were not ready to make a pledge to St. David's last year. Your financial partnership matters more now than ever before. 

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As we look ahead to the coming year, our projections indicate that a modest 11% increase in our budget (to a budget goal of $656,108) should prepare us to meet 2027 faithfully. That increase will help us ensure that we can offer fellowship opportunities like parishwide meet ups, continue providing Vacation Bible School at no charge, add an additional service on Sunday mornings, increase our Outreach budget, and provide more meals to families facing food insecurity through our DovePax ministry. 

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I invite you to join my wife Cyndi and me as we "give and give and give again" in 2027 from what God has so freely given us, knowing that it is in giving generously that we are most alive, that our souls are ablaze with love for God, and that our lives are increasingly transformed into the image of Jesus. 

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​The Rev. Paul A. Nesta

Rector (Lead Priest)​​​​​​

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