No Obligation Subscription - Hoping Inspiration Works

Dear Subscribers:

Once an organization or association has approved by-laws and built a website, it seems the next project is to create a newsletter or magazine. In addition to collecting dues, the staff, whether volunteer or paid, is tasked with keeping track of the industry’s trends and legislative agendum. Many of these periodicals now exist only online, but who can forget the importance of Potato Chipper Magazine or the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association newsletter? (When I was a kid, the latter arrived for my dad at the house each month.)  It matters not your hobby, interest or profession, you can bet there’s a periodical that fits even the narrowest of interest. Some titles explain themselves, like “Private Island Magazine”; others feel a tad more obscure, like “Emu Today and Tomorrow” or “Miniature Donkey Talk.”

You’re reading this today because you opened the “News & Opportunities” email newsletter carefully curated and edited by Jennifer Stockbridge every seven days. Sometimes it remains unopened (our subscription distribution service reports that fact); other times you scroll through the whole edition, checking your calendar and making notes regarding those who need prayer. We cast this document into your email inbox with the hope that it connects you to things you find important, to people who share your interests, to an association that enhances your meaning and purpose in Christ.

Like everything else at church, we charge no subscription fee; members and non-members alike are welcome to subscribe. We were a little stingier when there was the added expense of postage and printing, but through the wonders of electronic communication, a thousand more subscribers would not change our cost. Still, sharing this weekly newsletter with you isn’t free. In addition to direct costs of staff time, internet service, computers, office space and supplies, most of the events that make our news take place in a building that needs maintenance and utilities, personnel who anticipate modest compensation, supplies and equipment that need refilling and repair.

Yep, it’s stewardship season again (there are hundreds of magazines for that topic, too), and I’m hoping you are inspired by what this humble email brings you every week. I hope it piques your interest and expands your understanding of how you share in our congregation’s ministry and life together. We want you to remember you’re included in what we can accomplish and informed about the love and faith of others.

If we were a fraternal, hobbyist or professional organization, this newsletter would be included in your membership dues; but that’s not how your church does things. We open our doors, plan our events, send our emails and welcome whoever comes in the hope that everyone will be inspired to share. Like public broadcasting, I just wanted to remind you this email is made possible by readers like you.

Please consider what you can share in the coming year. Pledge information will be mailed in the old-fashioned way, so keep an eye on your snail mailbox.

Getting back to a great article on trends in Emu husbandry, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor