Dear Friends in Christ, I recently read a book on stewardship by Henri Nouwen. I find myself quoting Nouwen from time to time. He was a deep thinker and a devout disciple. I had no idea he had written on the subject of stewardship until a friend of mine gave me a copy of A Spirituality of Fundraising. In a chapter called Asking, Nouwen states:

"Asking people to share their money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the kingdom. To raise funds is to offer people the chance to invest what they have in the work of God. Whether they have much or little is not as important as the possibility of making their gifts available to God. When Jesus fed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, he was showing us how God's love can multiply the effects of our generosity. God's kingdom is the place of abundance where every generous act overflows its original bounds and becomes part of the unbounded grace of God at work in the world." I love that! We have a marvelous opportunity this month as we join together in funding and building a Habitat home for a special family. Our financial goal is $70,000. We're off to a good start, as we raised $15,942.45 so far. We also want to ask you to sign up for a day to work at the site. Your generous gift will be multiplied and the overflow of grace will be a blessing to many! Click here to watch a video about Misty and Jayden, our new Habitat family.

Dr.  Davis  Chappell

Finally, it was good to welcome new members Richard and Barbara Young, Michael Young, Baxter, Ginger, and Carlisle Wilder, Patricia Casserly, David, Melissa, Sloane and Tripp Killinger, Will, Anne, Lilly, and Mary Kimball Vereen, and Garrett Fredrick at our Brentwood campus. Welcome to our church community. We are a blessed to be a blessing! Davis