2026 Season begins: Rooted for the Future

Dear Friends,

We have much to celebrate at First Congregational Church.

Our church is thriving. Worship is vibrant. Ministries are growing. Our committees and volunteers are deeply engaged. Children, youth, families, longtime members, and newcomers are finding ways to connect, serve, and belong. There is a real sense of momentum in our congregation—and the extraordinary generosity of this community makes that momentum possible.

Generosity takes many forms. It is found in every financial gift that supports our ministries and keeps our church strong. It is also found in the countless hours people give to teach, lead, cook, serve, organize, sing, welcome, care for one another, advocate for justice, and help create the life of this church.

Last year, our congregation was asked to make a significant financial stretch—and you responded in an extraordinary way. After several years of balancing our annual budget by drawing from reserves, your generosity enabled us to eliminate that burden entirely.

That is worth celebrating.

This year, we have an opportunity to take the next important step toward long-term financial sustainability.

Our children and youth ministries are currently supported in significant part by onetime resources from the Gould Fund. Those resources have been an extraordinary gift, helping these ministries grow and flourish. But one-time funds cannot sustain ongoing ministries indefinitely. Our next step is to support more of these ministries through the pledged giving of our congregation.

It is a smaller financial lift than the one we accomplished together last year, but it is critically important. This is why our stewardship theme is Rooted for the Future.

We are rooted in a long history of faith, service, and generosity. Those roots have sustained this congregation for generations. Now we have the opportunity to strengthen them for generations still to come.

We often hear that children are “the future of the church.” They are. But they are also the church of the present. They are learning, singing, asking questions, building friendships, serving, and discovering what it means to belong to a community of faith right now.

When we support our children and youth ministries through pledged giving, we invest in the vibrant church they are already part of today—and help ensure that it remains strong and thriving for those who come after us. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing stories of the people, ministries, and programs that make FCC a vibrant community. We’ll celebrate not only the financial gifts that sustain our church, but also the remarkable gifts of time and talent that make our ministries possible.

Because stewardship is ultimately about more than a budget. It is about what we are building together: the kind of church we want to be today, and the strong and thriving church we want to leave for those who come after us.

We have deep roots. We have tremendous momentum. Last year, together, we took an extraordinary step forward. This year, we have the opportunity to take the next one.

Together, we are Rooted for the Future.
With gratitude,
Liz Gill, Stewardship Committee Chair

Estimate of Giving Card

Please, prayerfully consider how your financial gift might impact the full breadth and depth of our ministry.  Fill out the estimate of your financial contributions to the church on the form below.

Click to complete an Estimate of Giving form

FCC Stewardship Committee: Clark Compton, Dean Kokjer, Julie Jessal, Georgia Quick, and Liz Gill, Chair

Tithes and Offerings by Rev. Dean Kokjer

“Seems like the church is always asking for money.” This was a common refrain in all 10 churches I served for over 40 years as a pastor. I’ve heard it here at FCC too. Maybe it would help to distinguish between two different kinds of asks. “You shall bring your tithes and offerings to the Lord” (Deut.12). Tithes and Offerings are not the same thing. So what’s the difference? In the NRSV Bible, the word “tithe” occurs 21 times. The word “offering” occurs 715 times!

Our church budget is built each year on estimates which are the intentions for monetary contributions in the upcoming year.  You can easily fill out the form below and click “submit” to confidentially send it directly to our bookkeeper.

In simple terms, a tithe meant one tenth of what you produced: cattle, sheep, grain, olive oil, wine, etc. It was brought to the temple and given to the Levites (who had no land of their own) to be distributed to people in need and to maintain the holy place of God. Today we replicate that expectation through our annual pledged, or estimated, giving to this church to be used in the same way. Your regular giving becomes the operating budget that sustains the many ministries of FCC, our outreach beyond our congregation, and the maintenance of this place of God.

Offerings, on the other hand, were “occasional events” of sacrifice or giving. The occasion may have been an exceptional windfall, an act of expiation for some sin committed, a particular prayer lifted to heaven, the birth of a child, etc. In the Old Testament offerings were generally of three kinds: drink offering, meal offering, and animal offering. Today our offerings are of money (and time), rather than actual animals or produce; but they still come from our labors and our skills.

So yes, the church IS always asking for money. We have so much to do for the glory of God! We ask in October/November for you to make an estimate of your giving, your tithe, for the coming year. It is hoped that everyone makes this annual commitment at some level. This giving sustains the overall operation of our church.

In addition, on many occasions during the year we ask for your offerings, such as Tasajera or Sierra Service Project. It is not expected that everyone will contribute to every offering. If you choose to give to a particular offering request, that is great. You should give to the ones that capture your heart. But you should not feel obligated, nor guilty, if you pass over some of the offering requests.