There are some holidays and seasons that are easily recognizable on the calendar. They occur on the same day each year and are comfortably anticipated. Christmas is always on December 25. Independence Day is always on July 4. Valentine’s Day is always on February 14. Other holidays are a little more difficult to nail down. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, but the date changes every year. Easter is always on a Sunday but finds its way onto the Roman solar calendar via the lunar calendar; the date can vary by weeks from year to year. Some seasons are so particular to our church, that their lack of acknowledgment on the national calendar means we have to keep up with them ourselves. Each October, we allot time in our worship, prayers and generosity to give attention to the Lula Whilden World Missions Offering. While mission funding permeates our annual Mission and Ministry Plan (budget), the Lula Whilden Offering is a primary source of funding for our three primary mission affiliates: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Alliance of Baptists and South Carolina Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. It’s not a season on the national calendar or the liturgical calendar of churches worldwide, but it’s an important season for us. I trust we will be generous as we give toward our $125,000 goal.

Speaking of special days and generosity…This particular day is even more obscure. It’s harder to anticipate or identify than Easter or the Lula Whilden Season. Why? Well, because I just kind of ‘make it up’ every year…pastoral privilege, I guess. This Sunday, October 13, is our annual Catch Up Sunday. (See, I didn’t think it was on your calendar.) As Summer ends, and the routine of Autumn begins, we always find ourselves a few dollars behind our expected gifts for the year. Summer vacations—their cost and our absence—along with the cost of back-to-school and a host of other expenses often cause us to delay our gifts to the church, so this Sunday is Catch Up Sunday. If you’ve skipped a few opportunities to give in the last few months, catch up this Sunday. If you haven’t given what you had planned to give in the first three quarters of the year, catch up this Sunday. If you have regularly given, but have found yourself blessed in the course of the year, give an extra gift this Sunday and help us catch up. I believe we are on track to fully fund all our missions and ministries this year, but we all breathe a little easier when we ‘get caught up.’ Catch up on your giving this Sunday…and I’ll be doing the same…  

—Jim

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