The Saltire Cross Development Fund and E.C.G. - Exploring Christian Giving How is the heart of your soul? "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored?" (Matthew 5.13)

DEVELOPMENT FUND - A Resource Forum

What's it all about?

The Development Fund Committee [DFC], has been working assiduously over the past few months to develop strategies to utilize the enormous potential within the membership of St. Andrew Parish Church.

This means that human, intellectual and financial resources are the focus of concern of the DFC. The current project launched on Trinity Sunday (June 3, 2007) will:

• Identify current membership in order to ascertain the number and composition of the human resource base of this Church.

• Encourage the membership to participate more freely in the activities of the church and to do this based on an understanding of the principles of Christian discipleship and Stewardship.

• Introduce a system of personal pledging in keeping with the indi- vidual ’ s appreciation of God as Creator and Provider.

How will this happen?

The DFC has identified some eleven persons, who were commissioned to lead teams who will contact members of the church as listed on the current membership list.

Concurrently, the Christian Faith Formation Committee [CFFC] has developed a six-theme discipleship series as a spiritual health check – ‘ ECG FOR THE HEART AND SOUL’ – where ECG means Exploring Christian Giving - based on the practice of Christian Discipleship and Stewardship and this will be presented during the next few weeks:

• as a Sunday sermon and as a discussion group on the following Saturday at 10:00 a.m. [1½ hours in the Old Court House or Church Hall].

The topics are based on the Training Manual for the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands produced some years ago, the Church of England Training Manual and some reference will be made to The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren.

Topics are:

• Worship,
• Why God gave us Jesus,
• Personal Money Management,
• Discover your spiritual gifts,
• God's world,
• Social action.

This series is designed to identify choices to be made in coming to terms with Christian giving and how to live and give as effective stewards of God's resources.

The two programmes will run concurrently. It is anticipated that this two-pronged approach will result in the following:

• Identification and recording of the composition [age, skills, etc.] of the membership to allow for greater participation in the ministry of the church.

• Improvement in interaction among members, facilitating better communication and promoting greater caring and nurture among members.

• Place the Church Committee in a better position to establish a method whereby management of the capital and recurrent budgets will be based on a credible foundation and

• permit a reduction in the current debt being experienced by the church.

You are invited to participate in this activity by attending the services, joining the discussion group on Saturdays and supporting the teams.

Your team leaders are:
Mrs. Andrea ChinSee, Miss Annette Aqua, Mrs. Carol Graham, Mrs. Marie Isaacs, Mrs. Elesia Blackburn, Mrs. Tiny Goldson, Mrs. Elaine Baker, Mrs. Mabel Marsh, Mrs. Winnifred Johnsom, Mrs. Kathy Marrett & Mr. Neville Baker.

Calendar of Activities

A very warm welcome awaits you all.

The Saltire Cross - A publication of the Christian Faith Formation Committee, St. Andrew Parish Church, Half-Way-Tree Jamaica.