The President's Corner
I have taken pride in the fact that for over 2 years I have been able to feature different individuals and groups each week. It is a pride that stems from the fact so many ministries happen at Ascension. I am going to make an exception to that rule and share the following that I shared in November of 2015:
I have been a member of the LCMS since birth. Each Sunday, my parents would make sure we attended both Church and Sunday school. Another activity that took place each and every Sunday was the process of putting something into the collection plate when it was passed. Early in my life I put in the change that my mom would hand me, and then as I got older, I would give money that I earned. The tradition for me became the process of placing my money into that basked as it passed.
Over the past few years, Ascension has started offering alternative ways to contribute. Due to my long founded roots, I continued my tradition of placing my envelope into the basked just as I had since birth. Finally after missing a few Sundays due to travel, I realized I was giving out of tradition and not out of a heart of giving back what has been given to me. It was at that point that I took the steps to have my contribution automatically taken from my account. I have to confess that for the first few weeks, I felt a bit awkward when I had to pass the plate without placing anything in. It was also at that time that I realized my awkwardness came from what I perceived others thought of me when the plate passed me by. It was at that time I took the opportunity to refocus why I gave. It was no longer because of a tradition of placing something in the plate. It truly became an act of worship between me and God.
I want to thank each of you that give from the heart to assist with the ministry at Ascension. I also want to thank the many of you that use various avenues to contribute. If you would like more information about our options for giving, please contact the church office for more details.
The reason I wanted to share this article, is because we still have members that feel “judged” when the plate comes to them and they do not put anything in due to alternative forms of giving. Today, in addition to the traditional form of giving, we have the following as well:
12 congregation members use Vanco Online Payments for direct debit of their debit/credit cards.
2 members ACTIVELY use the CLOVER mini donation machine in the fellowship hall (we have a miscellaneous number of non-members that use it occasionally as well).
3 members ACTIVELY use Paypal.com EVERY week. We have another 10 or so members who occasionally use Paypal.
Mike Nowicki, Congregation President
I have been a member of the LCMS since birth. Each Sunday, my parents would make sure we attended both Church and Sunday school. Another activity that took place each and every Sunday was the process of putting something into the collection plate when it was passed. Early in my life I put in the change that my mom would hand me, and then as I got older, I would give money that I earned. The tradition for me became the process of placing my money into that basked as it passed.
Over the past few years, Ascension has started offering alternative ways to contribute. Due to my long founded roots, I continued my tradition of placing my envelope into the basked just as I had since birth. Finally after missing a few Sundays due to travel, I realized I was giving out of tradition and not out of a heart of giving back what has been given to me. It was at that point that I took the steps to have my contribution automatically taken from my account. I have to confess that for the first few weeks, I felt a bit awkward when I had to pass the plate without placing anything in. It was also at that time that I realized my awkwardness came from what I perceived others thought of me when the plate passed me by. It was at that time I took the opportunity to refocus why I gave. It was no longer because of a tradition of placing something in the plate. It truly became an act of worship between me and God.
I want to thank each of you that give from the heart to assist with the ministry at Ascension. I also want to thank the many of you that use various avenues to contribute. If you would like more information about our options for giving, please contact the church office for more details.
The reason I wanted to share this article, is because we still have members that feel “judged” when the plate comes to them and they do not put anything in due to alternative forms of giving. Today, in addition to the traditional form of giving, we have the following as well:
12 congregation members use Vanco Online Payments for direct debit of their debit/credit cards.
2 members ACTIVELY use the CLOVER mini donation machine in the fellowship hall (we have a miscellaneous number of non-members that use it occasionally as well).
3 members ACTIVELY use Paypal.com EVERY week. We have another 10 or so members who occasionally use Paypal.
Mike Nowicki, Congregation President
