A Message from the Pledge Campaign Chair
Walking among the redwoods in Muir Woods or Armstrong Grove, I feel that I have entered God’s natural cathedral. And our beautiful Incarnation church is a cathedral, too, built of two redwood trees.
A tiny redwood seed germinates, takes root and grows into a tree, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. And new sprouts form around the base of a tree, utilizing the nutrients and root system of the parent, generating a new generation of trees. A miracle!
The seeds of faith in action that we have planted here at Incarnation over the past year are already showing robust growth, but there are many more yet to plant. God’s mission happens inside our church, where we worship and learn and grow as disciples, but God’s mission also happens on the streets, in the schools, in the neighborhoods, and at the workplaces outside our campus.
We’re finally emerging out of two-plus years of pandemic isolation and uncertainty. Each household has had a different financial experience of the pandemic, and this year’s choppy market and inflation have been rough on all of us. Dare we dream beyond our own limited human imagination? What dare we dream if we have God’s help? What can we accomplish with God’s help?
Today I am asking you to consider what you will pledge to our community in the coming year. Every gift of time, talent and treasure goes toward our ministry and mission, and yours is essential to us. I ask that you pray with us as we launch our annual gathering of gifts and gratitude, and consider how you will contribute your gift.
You can pick up a pledge card at the back of the church or in Farlander Hall that you can fill out and drop in the offering plate on Sunday or later in our special pledge mailbox in Farlander.
It’s especially easy to make your pledge online by scanning the QR code on the pledge card with your smartphone camera which will take you to the pledge drive page on our website; or simply type https://www.incarnationsantarosa.org/pledge2023/ in your internet browser.
- Over the next six weeks, you will see posters and signs around our campus urging everyone to join in and make your pledge. You’ll get regular updates in News & Notes, on our website page, on our Incarnationians community site on FaceBook, and during church announcements.
- You’ll be able to get help with online pledging during Sunday coffee hours. Just look for me or any vestry member.
- You’ll have a chance to learn more about our budget and ministries for 2023 at our special Parish Lunch and Town Hall on November 6, All Saints' Sunday after the 10:15 service.
- And you will see and hear from your fellow parishioners every week on what they dare to dream and why they pledge.
My dare to dream? 100% participation from every member of our congregation, young or old or in-between. Will you join me in making a gift, large or small or in-between, according to your ability, to Incarnation’s mission for 2023? Let’s dare to dream BIG! Together, we can make a miracle.
Inese Heinzel
October 9, 2022
