Why do you give?

Each person has their own reasons to give to their parish, and those reasons may change during their lifetimes. You may give because your parents nurtured that habit in you; perhaps giving makes you feel part of the parish community; maybe you give because you value the ministries and programs of St. James and want them to remain strong; or you are grateful to God for family, friends, health, and your life; perhaps your priorities have changed and you find more pleasure in giving than in some of the things that had previously been important to you; maybe you have learned to trust that God, who gave you all that you have, will make the portion you keep for yourself be an abundance.

Matt and I have given for all of those reasons at various points in our lives. When we had been working
towards tithing for a few years, we realized our priorities had changed and our trust in God had grown. God seemed to make what we kept enough, no matter how much we increased our giving. We learned it is impossible to out-give God.

I encourage you, as you think about your financial commitment to St. James for 2024, to thank God for what you have been given, to think about why you are giving, and to trust that whatever you have, whether great or meager, can be an abundance if you trust in God’s generosity.
—Elizabeth Henry