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Greetings from the Upshaws! We’ve been part of this community for the last five years — some of you may have seen our son, Ben, in the tech booth or our daughter, Evie, herding little kids — and we are honored to be your stewardship chairs for 2027.
Our theme this year is “There Our Hearts Will Be.” It comes from Matthew 6:21, which says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Stewardship season is a time to reflect on what matters most to us and what we want to prioritize in the year ahead — both as a community, through our church budget, and as individuals, through our intentions to give. These things together determine where “our hearts will be” in the days and months ahead.
So we invite you to ask yourself: where is your heart?
- Is it with the college students and young adults that have found a spiritual home at FUMCB through Jubilee?
- Is it with East Africans who have formed a vibrant community here in Bloomington and are teaching our community new ways of being the body of Christ?
- Is it with children and youth as they are spiritually formed in the way of Christ?
- Is it with senior adults who continue to model what it means to serve others and pass down wisdom?
- Is it with art and music and their vital role in helping us worship God?
- Is it with our long tradition of being present in downtown Bloomington through this historic building, and the community & ministries we’ve built within it?
When you give to FUMCB, you are supporting all of these ministries and saying, “There. That’s where my heart is.”
Stewardship season kicks off on Sunday, September 27. Throughout October we’ll take time in worship to reflect on the why, how, and when of giving. We’ll also talk about our intention to give form — both paper and online — and why completing and returning it is so helpful as we plan for the year ahead.
During this time, we’ll also take a look at the 2027 church budget, which totals $1.46 million. This represents a 3% increase over 2026. We hope you’ll consider joining us as we take the next step in our generosity journey to help fund this plan for the coming year. To learn more about this, please attend our Town Hall Meeting on September 20 in the Great Hall.
Additionally, in Discipleship Hour, starting on Sunday, October 4th we’ll be offering a special multi-lingual financial management class. This class in the Great Hall will cover a variety of topics including budgeting, debt, and savings. It will be a great opportunity to reflect more broadly on our financial practices.
Stewardship season will culminate in Celebration Sunday on October 25. During a special service that day, we hope you’ll join us as we celebrate our commitment to the future of FUMCB and turn in our intentions to give for 2027 — a tangible way of saying where our hearts will be in the coming year.
Thank you in advance for taking this journey with us. We are sincerely excited and grateful to participate in this stewardship season in this new role. If you have any questions, want to discuss any of this, or simply want to share where your heart is, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
You are a blessing!
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