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"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. . ."
- Philippians 1:3-5
Paul writes these words in the beginning of his letter to the church at Philippi. When Paul thinks of these fellow Christians, he is thankful because of their generosity -- not only to him, but of their time and energy in working together with him as partners to do God's saving work. Echoing our "Season of Generosity" theme - they also "Gave to Save."
This past Sunday as the bagpipes played, many of us brought forward our pledge cards during the hymn "Amazing Grace." It was a moving time for me. We don't often have the opportunity to come forward and make such a visible expression of our thanksgiving to God. I am especially grateful to all the members of our church family who made financial commitments for 2020. Your gifts will enable us to partner with God to save those around us. In addition to the members of our JCPC church family, 2,300 "friends" of JCPC are touched weekly by our ministries and those of our partners who meet on this campus - all because of your generous gifts.
We are off to a strong start. So far we have 71 pledges totaling $509,208. This is about 57% of our pledge goal of $892,500. I am so grateful for everyone who expressed their generosity through their pledge. Thank you for caring! If you were not here Sunday, we need you to help us complete our goal so that we can do God's saving work in our community and around the world. We can't do it without your support. Extra pledge cards will be in our Friendship pads in the chapel. Please fill one out and place it in the offering plate this Sunday, or mail it in. You can also make your pledge online to the JCPC website -- www.jcpcusa.org, or through the JCPC app.
This Sunday is All Saints' Sunday. During our worship service, we will remember those in our church family and others whom we have lost in the past year. I hope you will make a special effort to come!
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