Over the years, our yearly Thanksgiving Offering has been a way of giving which has made a huge difference in the life of our congregation. This year we are running a church wide program called “Growing Generosity” which focuses on investing in God’s mission in and through our church with our time, passions, gifts and finances. The best way to do this is through our regular giving (such as our tithes, offerings or scheduled bank transfers) and as part of Growing Generosity we are asking our church members to prayerfully review their giving.
Our Finance/Management team were concerned that two of our regular Thanksgiving projects – the Christmas Blessing to our missionaries and the project supporting our Christmas Events – would be underfunded if we don’t hold the Thanksgiving Offering this year, and have asked us to run a “mini-thanksgiving offering” for just these two projects. This giving is above and beyond our regular giving to the church – we do not want members to alter their regular giving to give to Thanksgiving Offering. If you feel that God is prompting you to support these two projects, we encourage you to read through the information below and prayerfully consider whether you may be able to support one or both of them financially.
For more information on any of these projects – email our minister Phil at phil.swain@turramurrauniting.org.au
2025 Mini-Thanksgiving Offering
Project #1 – Blessing our Missionaries
Target: $3000 for a Christmas Blessing
While we as a church continue our regular giving towards our missionaries, this project is a way to share a extra Christmas blessing with them – split between missionary families (Bickertons, Blairs and Watkins) as well the DISH Christmas drive.
Project #2 – Blessing Christmas Events
Target: $2500 to help subside the Christmas Sunday Funday, the Turramurra Community Carols and our huge Christmas Eve spectacular.
As a gift to the wider community we hold three large community events during the Christmas season. While we financially support these events within our church budget, we have been able to add extra elements such as a petting zoo for the Christmas Sunday Funday, a large jumping castle at the Carols, and additional headset/handheld microphones and lighting for Christmas Eve through the blessing of donations. We would love to be able to continue this if this Thanksgiving Offering is supported.
(Note – the Countdown to Christmas program has already been funded through the Trivia Night held in July)