Dear Walker Chapel family,
I hope everyone is managing to find a space of spiritual and physical comfort despite the very challenging circumstances we all face.
I also hope that you were able to connect with Pastor Lynne’s second Sunday morning worship livestream. You may have experienced a brief Internet hiccup during the livestream broadcast, so to view Lynne’s complete, uninterrupted message—or for those of you who missed it altogether—you can find it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/hZbPxEofD14.
My family is one of those whose weekly financial pledge goes into the offering plate during the regular Sunday morning worship services. Whether from those fulfilling an annual pledge or those simply adding a more spontaneous contribution when the offering plate is passed around, the amount of funds collected during worship services is a significant source of Walker Chapel’s income. Although the church is temporarily closed to all of its regular activities (including Sunday morning worship) and a few of our expenses are reduced, we cannot maintain the fixed church financial obligations solely on the automatic electronic funds transfers received from those fulfilling pledge obligations in this manner. Furthermore, our Church Council—with deep regrets—has made the responsible decision to cancel our traditional Aprilfest; while we hope that Aprilfest will appear with a reimagined form (and name) after the health crisis passes, for now we are in need of funding to support Walker Chapel’s outreach ministries. Due to the effects of COVID-19 on the general economy, the need for many of these ministries will be greater than ever.
After listening to Lynne yesterday I realized I had to get current with our family’s weekly offering. There’s a fast, simple way to do this: go to the church Website (http://www.walkerchapel.org/payments/ or text the dollar amount you want to give to 833-608-0663) with your gifts to put into the virtual offering plate. It’s remarkably easy to do, and it’s a secure third party processing the transaction; you can either move funds from a bank account or use a credit card. If using the latter approach, please consider upping your offering to compensate for the credit card processing fee (the Website will give you this option as you finalize your donation). Finally, instead of selecting the one time donation option, consider setting your offering as a recurring weekly donation. You must donate a minimum of $3 to use the text-to-give feature and it also will allow you to set up a recurring donation. Of course, you can also mail a check addressed to Walker Chapel UMC, 4102 Old North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22207.
I pray we will soon be permitted to come together as a congregation as we are accustomed to doing, but we must be prepared that this could be many weeks away—and even then, it will likely be a gradual phasing of our pre-COVID life activities. We cannot wait for this unknown point in time to bring forth our offerings; please, live out your faith and help keep Walker Chapel financially stable now.
Yours in Christ,
James M. Wright
Lay Leader, Walker Chapel United Methodist Church
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