Dear First Church member or friend,

You are warmly invited during our now open stewardship season to commit your time and treasure to the support of our ”joyful, welcoming and justice- seeking church in the heart of our nation’s capital.”   This is the time of year when First Church builds our budget and volunteer teams for 2027. Enclosed you will find a commitment card, a narrative budget sketching our aspirations, and a return envelope. In the coming weeks, you will hear from members of the congregation about what the church means to them and how that inspires their financial and volunteer commitments. Please reflect and discuss with your household members about how our church sustains and empowers you for challenges personal and social.

Our theme this year is There Our Hearts Will Be, based on Matthew 6:21. The passage invites us to consider the depth of our relationships to First Church. How has it assured and inspired you? What aspects of its mission have given you hope despite personal or social challenges?  What is the character of your commitment? Our personal presence and engagement are the greatest “treasures” we devote to God through our church community. Is it true that there “neither  moth nor rust consumes and … thieves do not break in and steal”? Matthew 6:20.   For me, First Church projects a living source of joy and a call for social justice, which nurture my heart.

Please pledge by or before Commitment Sunday, November 22. Pledging allows us to budget wisely and match volunteer requests with your preferences. You can return your commitment card in the envelope provided by mail, in the offering plate at worship, or online. As you look at the narrative budget, I hope you will see that our expenditures are lean and mission focused. We continue to project a deficit for 2027 but expect to end 2026 with a much smaller deficit than what we had projected last January.  We need to increase our pledge income. Our finances are transparent, and we encourage you to ask questions about the budget.

We know that everyone is struggling with higher prices and economic uncertainty. Yet the church’s mission has never seemed more important and sustaining. Please give what you can so this essential beacon of hope can shine ever brighter.

Thank you for your commitment.

In fellowship,

Peter Byrne, Stewardship Chair