Live Here. Grow Here. Give Here. #GivingTuesday 2019

In the United States, we are overwhelmed by advertising promotions, deals, and special offers in the weeks before Black Friday. Seeming even to overshadow Thanksgiving, our gratitude gets diverted to spending. While a wise consumer can take advantage of valid discounts, we must be careful because the “savings” enjoyed corresponds to increased spending. This year, the amount spent on Black Friday is estimated to be around $500 per person, only to be followed by Cyber Monday that could double that amount! Being good stewards is all about ethical decision-making, but our stewardship is not just about “saving” money. It’s about “investing” our resources in meaningful endeavors and organizations, too.

In response to this excessive spending, a global movement called #GivingTuesday began in 2012 as one important day of giving back to the community and promoting awareness and opportunities to invest in charitable organizations both with our time and finances. On the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, December 3, let’s kick-off the holiday season by giving back to our community! Because we live here, and grow here, let’s give here, too!

Your Financial Gifts Help Us Energize Spirits and Transform Lives

As the Advent and Christmas season begin, make Cold Spring Presbyterian Church a recipient of your on-going and special end-of-year giving. Only through your regular and generous financial support can we achieve our mission as we energize spirits and transform lives through inspiring worship of Jesus Christ, practical teaching from God’s word, innovative programs, and community-focused events and ministry. Whether you prefer to give weekly, monthly, or annually, in person or online, every gift is deeply appreciated. So much has been accomplished in 2019, and we count on your continued and generous financial and volunteer support to achieve even more in 2020, our 306th year!

10 Ways to Give to Without Money

There’s other ways to give that matter just as much! Give by volunteering, too. Contact the office or speak with the pastor to explore an amazing assortment of opportunities to help you make a difference! Here are 10 Ways to Give Without Money:

1. Offer Your Hospitality and Friendship

Consider offering your friendly smile greeting people as they arrive at worship or our other evens. You could participate on our Congregation and Community Life Team planning dinners and gatherings. If you drive to church every Sunday with vacant seats in your vehicle, its a great and relatively easy opportunity to help others who need transportation. Assist the Deacons in emailing, calling, or visiting the elderly who need a friend.

2. Show Kids You Care

Consider joining our Sunday kids team helping our growing group experience God’s love in fun, memorable ways. Assist with the Gingerbread House event, volunteer to help kids with their homework, or be a mentor.

3. Put Your Tech Skills To Work

If you are good with tech, computers, or sound and video, or photography, you may want to join our Tech Team as we develop new ways to share our story online, video live-streaming, podcast, and in our communications. Maybe teach a tech-assist class for seniors to help get the most from their iPads and smartphones, or volunteer to be our videographer or photographer at our events.

4. Bring Your Love Of History Into the Future

Our Historic Ancestors Walk church and cemetery tour team is open to lovers of history who want to become a tour guide. We want to expand the tours to include community and school groups, too. Or, maybe you’d like to help campus visitors locate graves of departed loved ones. Our community partnerships are growing, too. Consider volunteering at Historic Cold Spring Village, MAC, or the Cape May County Historical Society.

5. Teach and Share What You Care About

You have valuable skills or hobbies to share with others like woodworking, crafts, painting, birdwatching, flowers and gardening, or making improvements inside or outside. Maybe you’d like to start a support or educational group. Whatever activity you enjoy, consider teaching a class for an hour on a weeknight or weekend, get involved in starting something new. Turn your hobby into a project that serves others. Check our calendar to learn what other community groups meet here. Our Presbyterian Women, Busy Bees, and Wednesday groups are great places to start!

6. Share Your Voice, Music, and Love of the Arts

Are you musical? Offer your gifts as a soloist, instrumentalist, or join our Higher Praise singing team to enliven our worship experience. Learn how to become a liturgist reading Scripture and help lead worship. Participate on the Worship and Music team, or volunteer to visit assisted living or retirement facilities with the Good News.

7. Turn Your Love Of Making Places Delightful Into A Reality

Your knack of caring for, managing, or beautifying our sanctuary, property, and grounds may be a perfect fit on our Cemetery and Church Property Team, or our Cemetery Team, if you’d like to care for our campus and promote our cemetery services. Perhaps you could volunteer for a seasonal team such as helping prepare for holidays, events, repair and improvement teams, or help with Fall and Spring clean-ups.

8. Your Resource Management Skills Are Welcomed Here

Being a good steward is more than tracking budgets and finances, but if managing money is something you love, consider helping seniors with their income taxes. You may want to occasionally serve as a counter after worship or helping the Finance Team in other ways.

9. Miss the Office? Have We Got A Job For You!

Our Church and Cemetery Office offers many opportunities to volunteer and assist our staff with special projects, data entry, filing, meeting and event prep, and assistance with periodic mailings and publications. Stop in and find out how you can help.

10. Share Your Experience. Invite a friend.

We saved the most important way you can volunteer for last! Ask someone to join you! Inviting a friend and sharing your enthusiasm for what you are experiencing here makes a huge difference in other’s lives. It shows you care. And it is a way to show your gratitude to God for the blessings you have received!

On December 3, 2019, #GivingTuesday, give at Cold Spring Church, and other civic and community organizations. Thank you for making greater Cape May a better place as we put our faith into action!