Dear Friends,

Last Sunday, the gospel lesson in church concluded with these words of Jesus:

“Those who lose their life for my sake, will find it.”

Another expression of that  truth might be these words: “Those who give away what they have for my sake will find true abundance.”

In 2013, the vestry made a decision to give away  a tithe – or 10%- of the total of any fundraising event to missions and ministries beyond our local parish.  When we are working hard to meet our own budget, that can seem like a challenge. Yet we are already learning that as we look outward and give ourselves away, generosity flows.

Many of you recall that we had a very succesfsul Spring Auction, coordinated by Charlotte Maynard. At Charlotte’s suggestion, we decided to give not just 10%, but 40% of what we raised to local organizations in Charlestown that serve the common good. I am happy to report that in this last month, checks for $528 each were sent to the following organizations:

Harvest on Vine, Charlestown’s Emergency Food Pantry

The Harvard-Kent Leadership and Scholarship Partnership, which provides college scholarships and leadership training for students at the Harvard Kent School

The Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center, which provides tutoring and after school programs along with athletic programs for youth

The Kennedy Center, serving children through Headstart, tutoring, and other programs

Thank you to all who with glad and generous hearts are helping us to live out the truth of Jesus’ words.

Faithfully,
Tom