Dear friends,

Generosity is not first something we do—it is first something we receive. Before we ever give, we are already given every good gift from above: life, breath, daylight. Every good thing in our lives arrives as a gift.

This year, I invite you to notice where the gift of God’s grace meets you. For most of us, it is not everywhere at once but somewhere in particular, a place. St. James’ is that place for many of us: a doorway on Madison Avenue where strangers became friends, an altar where the bread of life was placed in our open hands, a room where a child first learned to sing, a kitchen where a neighbor was fed with dignity. God’s generosity is powerfully on display at St. James’.  

A generous spirit grows in people who know they have been loved in a particular place, by a personal God revealed in Jesus Christ. And it turns outward. The generous spirit asks: how can I make this place as open to the next person as it was to me?

A financial commitment to St. James’, whatever the amount, is a critical answer. The psalmist sings, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” What we hold, we hold in trust, and giving is simply returning a portion to the One who gave. Your gifts keep the doors open, the altar prepared, the choir singing, and the Community Kitchen and Samaritan’s Closet serving. Your financial commitment creates a place of holy encounter. 

So I ask you to pray about your commitment for 2027. Think of it not so much out of obligation, but out of gratitude for what you have received. The living Christ has been generous with us in this place. May we continue to be generous in it, too.

The Rev. Zachary R. Thompson, Rector