This is the final Sunday of our six-week stewardship campaign for the financial commitment to the budget passed at the annual Vestry meeting in February.

If you have brought in your commitment card today, it can be placed on the collection plate, where it will be blessed along with other monetary gifts to the church. We hope all cards have come in this week, but if you have forgotten, next week is also possible.

Over the last several weeks, we have been uplifted to hear talks by members of our congregation and our community about the wonderful strengths of Ascension. We are a big hug to visitors, a strong community, a place for healing and joy, and a family – only better. We are grateful to God for the gifts we have in these areas.

We also have areas where we are fragile and must build and grow. If we are the body of Christ, these are our weak muscles that must be strengthened. We need those stronger muscles so that we can walk the challenging financial road we have ahead of us. We need those stronger muscles so that we have a greater number of us committed to the mission of Jesus Christ in East London. If we can leverage our strengths and live with gratitude to God and to one another, Ascension can continue to express our love and service to God far into the future.