Grace Upon Grace: God's Generosity and Our Response

“Grace Upon Grace: God’s Increase and Our Response”
There is a particularly beautiful sentence, situated in the midst of the gorgeously poetic first chapter of the Gospel of John.  These words always overwhelm me when I hear them; they inspire me by revealing the infinitely limitless generosity and benevolence of our Creator; they stir up within me deep gratitude, wonder, and even my own desire to grow as a gracious and generous person made in God’s image.

 “From God’s fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1.16

As our 2020 Stewardship Pledge Campaign gets ready to kick off on October 20, we are embracing this truth of God’s lavish and limitless GRACE as our campaign theme.  During the Campaign, we will hear stories from members of our community who have experienced one surprise of God’s faithfulness after another, living out the truth that there is no end to the goodness God has for us.

We will also tell the stories of grace upon grace experienced in our Church & School community during the past year.  Truly, we have experienced a banner year in the renewal and rebuilding of Grace Episcopal Church & School as a sustainable outpost of God’s grace in Southwest Houston…

• Last year’s pledge campaign well exceeded the “stretch goal” we had set to keep moving forward in 2019…
• Our building and grounds have been refreshed and updated, in ways beyond what we thought possible at the start of this year, making worship and ministry more accessible and inclusive for all…
• Church & School are working together, more and more, as one community -- in sync, in a shared direction, in a growing mutual mission…
• School enrollment has exceeded anything we’ve seen in the last five years, with further growth and strength projected for next year…
• New folks of all ages and backgrounds have found their way to Grace as a spiritual home, with an increasing Average Sunday Attendance…
• New worship and outreach opportunities on the horizon…
• And, so much more… grace upon grace!

The 2020 Pledge Campaign will run from October 20 through November 10.  We’ll celebrate the in-gathering of pledges together in a special Thanksgiving Eucharist on Sunday, November 17.

Stewardship is our community’s season of acknowledging God’s grace in our lives – in our private and family lives, and in our life together as a congregation.  It is a season of prayerfulness, as we ask what dreams God has for us in the coming year and how we can be a part by sharing our gifts of money, of time, of leadership, of wellbeing, of truth, and of relationship.
In the coming weeks, you’ll receive a mail packet from our Stewardship Chairperson and Bishop’s Warden.  Special thanks to Bob Duran for chairing the Pledge Campaign again for 2020.  Please begin now to pray and consider how you can and will contribute the community life and ministry of Grace in the coming year. 

My prayer is that we will find ourselves “all in” at Grace in 2020 – that we will burst with gratitude for God’s presence and work among us, and that we will be generous with our treasure, our time, and our other resources to share with God in growing this community.

I know that in making pledges and serving with others we will open ourselves to experiencing more and more of God’s grace upon grace. 

With you on the way,
Scott+
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