
One of the things that you hear frequently when watching sports on television is a commentator or coach talking about a team’s ability or inability to “finish” the game. By that they mean making the effort necessary to complete the game successfully. Last Sunday night one team seemed to have the game well in hand, but they could not “finish” it.
We have had a wonderful year with many things accomplished. Our mission outreach has been significant, touching hundreds of lives. Our worship has brought people into the presence of God with life-changing results. Our care ministries have touched lives throughout our congregation. But there is still unfinished business. As a congregation we need to “finish” 2009.
There are all the usual things that come with the Advent-Christmas season. There are reports to be compiled. There are plans to be put in place as we prepare to move into next year. But the part that weighs heavily on us is the completion of our financial commitments. A large portion of those un-raised funds are designated toward our Conference apportionments, those funds that we contribute along with other churches, that allow our Conference and denomination to carry out significant ministries that would not be possible for any one congregation alone. They also fund the structures that make this denomination the force for good that it is.
When the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation looked for a partner to help eradicate malaria in Africa, they came to The United Methodist Church because we already had in place the distribution system so necessary for such a large endeavor. Our giving together made and continues to make that possible.
Over the last few months I’ve written about these funds, what they support, and what we have committed to each of them. I hope you have been aware of the impact our gives make on our mission in the world. If you have any questions, please ask, and we will do our best to answer.
We now have about six weeks left in 2009. Traditionally these weeks are our strongest giving times. I hope you will help make that happen again. All of us, working together, will help First United Methodist Church of Austin “finish” this year in good shape with our ministries making a difference and our commitments paid.