The events of the last several weeks have been unprecedented. The closing of our church under direction of the Governor has never happened before. St. Andrew has never closed for an extended period since our founding over 70 years ago. Glory be to God for the hard work and passion of our pastors and staff who are working hard to ensure that we can hear the word of God and receive the spiritual nourishment needed, especially in these challenging times.
Some have asked about the financial consequences to St. Andrew that may result from orders and restrictions surrounding this pandemic. As you may imagine, any time our faith community misses the opportunity to worship and gather, the church will experience a significant downturn in giving. Your church finances are carefully managed, and we have always treated all financial gifts with the utmost care. But until this pandemic is under control and we are back to worship and events “as usual,” we can’t determine the ultimate financial shortfall that will result.
Thanks be to God, we have sufficient financial reserves to cover all of our obligations in the short term. However, if this trend continues we will be faced with making very difficult adjustments to our budget and ministries. To combat the shortfall, we are already implementing spending cuts wherever possible, in areas such as janitorial expense, utilities expense and delay of certain maintenance items. However, expenses such as our mortgage, payroll, and many more must be paid regularly and on time, regardless of this situation.
As we trust God to provide in the midst of these uncertain times, I ask you to seek the Spirit’s guidance and prayerfully consider giving something “extra” beyond your planned contributions, as the Lord provides and circumstances allow. If just a fraction of our families are able to make a modest extra donation, I’m confident we can continue with our mission to spread the good word of Jesus Christ in our community and around the world!
Some of you are regular givers through our secure E-Giving Platform, and our sincere thanks go to those who have used this platform to continue, or even increase your gifts in these challenging times. For those who haven’t yet used the online platform, please give it a try – just click mystandrew.org/give to make a one-time or continuing gift using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or a credit card. Checks may be made payable to LCSA and sent to 15300 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905. Please don’t send cash by mail. For those with offering envelopes, the envelopes are designed for mailing as needed – just add a stamp! Other financial gifts, such as appreciated stocks or Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA may be made as always. Please contact me at bjw@fsgcap.com if you would like more information on any of these giving options.
Thank you for your tithes and offerings to Christ’s mission at St. Andrew. May the Lord bless and keep you, our church family, and those we strive to reach in His amazing grace!
In His Name +
Bruce J. Winter, Treasurer