Aloha Members and Friends of Holy Nativity;

I am writing to ask for your commitment to God's work in and through our church.  For nearly sixty years Holy Nativity has made a significant impact in the community of Aina Haina, the Diocese of Hawai'i and the larger church and community.  Our duty is to do no less today and yet the needs are much greater.  The demands of our world, the increased costs of maintaining facilities and the call to mission are realities we must face.  But one thing remains the same, God's love that strengthens and enables us to respond faithfully as Christian Stewards.  All that we are and all that we have comes from God.  This is the first lesson of stewardship education.  We know this is true and yet it is difficult to align our living with this basic understanding.  So year after year the church calls upon its members, those who claim and proclaim Christ as Lord, to reorient our lives according to God's will and way.  There is no more powerful method of doing so than through stewardship, acknowledging that our lives are God's and by returning a portion of that which God has given to us, we do God's work in the world.

Like many other churches, we do God's work by establishing a place and gathering a people that will proclaim the good news of the Gospel.  To do this costs money.  Holy Nativity has an annual budget of approximately $500,000.  More than one-half of that is for salary and personnel costs.  One-fourth is for program and mission funding, providing for ministry both locally and through our Diocese, to all the world.  The rest goes to the maintenance of the facility.  Only one-half of our annual income comes from individual pledges and contributions.  The rest comes from property rentals and investment income.  We are fortunate to have these "other" means of funding; however they are not sufficient to meet our growing expenses.  In order to move from maintenance to mission we need the increased support of our members.

So, on behalf of the vestry, I invite you to join us and make your pledge to God's work in this place, but not before first prayerfully considering what God has given to you and then, in thanksgiving, return a portion to God in and through the church.

                                                                           Mahalo and God Bless

                                                                         Rick +

                                                                           Rick Vinson