2025 Stewardship Campaign Brochure
2025 Stewardship Campaign
Rooted in Faith, Growing in Service,
Living in Love
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Dear friends,
As we enter a new season of our faith journey together, we invite you to reflect on the theme for this year's stewardship campaign: Rooted in Faith, Growing in Service, Living in Love. This theme beautifully captures the essence of our shared life in Christ and our calling as a church community.
At the heart of everything we do is our faith, firmly rooted in the love of God. Like a tree that stands strong because of its deep roots, we too are grounded in our faith and the enduring promises of the Gospel. Through our participation in worship, prayer, music, and study, we draw closer to God and to each other.
Just as a tree bears fruit when it is nourished, our faith calls us to action to address the needs in our community, the nation, and the world. Together we bag rice and beans, serve meals at Urban Ministries, collect school supplies, support medical debt relief, join mission trip builds, aid refugee families, advocate for racial justice, and work with those released from prison to name a few. And as we grow in service, in response to our faith, we move closer to living in love with God and our neighbor.
Individual and collective stewardship of our time, talents, and treasure is critical to supporting the work of FPC and its mission. Through generous giving by you and others, the annual stewardship campaign provides more than 94% of the money needed to support our annual operating budget. This budget employs the staff, maintains the facilities, funds our worship, educational programming, and fellowship, and supports over 20 ministries and organizations in our community.
Our 2025 Needs Budget is $1.2 million, and we are seeking a modest 3.5 - 5.0% increase in pledge donations from all those who have pledged in 2024 or earlier.
For those who have not pledged before, we ask you to consider making a pledge this year as an act of discipleship and in support of the mission and ministries of the FPC.
Let us be a people rooted in faith, growing in service, and living in love.
In Christ’s love,
Mindy Douglas, Pastor/Head of Staff
Jon Abels, Stewardship Committee Chair
For those who have not pledged before, we ask you to consider making a pledge this year as an act of discipleship and in support of the mission and ministries of the FPC.
Let us be a people rooted in faith, growing in service, and living in love.
In Christ’s love,
Mindy Douglas, Pastor/Head of Staff
Jon Abels, Stewardship Committee Chair
Service & Mission
When we joined FPC, the statement “downtown by history and by choice” and the commitment to the community this implied resonated with us. We were drawn into service and advocacy projects by our fellow FPC members, helping with Habitat houses, participating in marches, volunteering at Emanuel Food Pantry and, while joining in these activities, we learned of the depth of involvement FPC has in service.
Service and Mission is a large part of the church’s operating budget and is further supported by the gifts of members who have gone on before us. And importantly, most of our Service and Mission projects are driven and supported by the active involvement of our members. Whether sponsoring a refugee family, supporting the day school, running meal trains, helping with the walk-in ministry, or participating in other countless efforts, our fellow FPC members step out in service.
FPC’s Core Values statement says: “FPC advocates for social justice and responds to ‘the cries of the poor,’ remembering Jesus’ promise to be found among the hungry, homeless, sick, and imprisoned.” We strongly support this lively, caring, and out- ward-facing community with our time and resources and encourage your generous response.
~ George and Johanna Bernhardt
2024 Global Budget by Function
Inclusion & Welcome
We have quickly grown to love this church family and the cultural diversity which we have found at First Presbyterian Church. We have been warmly welcomed and believe that new visitors will find the same welcome spirit. FPC cares for the needs of everyone in this congregation. In particular, FPC celebrates those who grow and mature from birth to adulthood and appreciates the gifts of wisdom of its seniors. The church also supports those facing the challenges of raising children and finding their place in the world and in their faith. FPC additionally ministers to many neighbors in downtown Durham and our extended community: some are students and their families; some have moved to the greater Durham area without families; and others are here for employment opportunities and need a new family of faith to nurture them. FPC also welcomes their experiences and their willingness to share in the joy of being a church family.
The FPC family is known for honoring, celebrating, and extending fellowship to “…the human diversity and unity that God gives us in Christ.” Further, … “We welcome individuals of every age, race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, economic circumstance, and ability to participate fully in the life of the church.” This important statement of welcome is published weekly in the worship bulletin.
The pastors and staff at FPC wonderfully support the congregants and the church’s missions of faith formation and social justice. Along with the other elements of worship, the intellectually stimulating and thought provoking sermons serve as the foundation of our church life. The music program and beautiful sanctuary further enhance the worship experience.
For all the above reasons, we encourage new hands and new voices to join us in supporting the mission and ministries of FPC with a financial pledge.
~ Dennis Hill and Jim Adams
Worship & Faith Formation
Faith Formation classes have been an essential part of our family’s engagement in our wonderful church community. Fourteen years ago, when our daughter Mary Ellis was a toddler, Keith and I taught Faith Formation class for the youngest among us. We cherished the role of shepherding our youngest churchgoers through precious lessons of God’s promises and Christ’s love.
A few years later during the pandemic, I helped teach the Kindergarten through 2nd grade Faith Formation class on Zoom. As challenging as those circumstances were, the new medium provided new opportunities for creativity and connection. Who could forget our show and tell temples made out of Legos? The angels we each found around our houses? There were many hard days throughout the pandemic. Being in virtual community with fellow teachers and young, curious children provided a consistent bright spot in my week.
The last few years, I have helped teach the 3rd through 5th graders through Godly Play. Both of our children have been enriched by this lovely and thoughtful curriculum. I have learned so much from my fellow teachers, and the children’s insights have been equally valuable and thought provoking. Most Sundays, I would report back to my family at lunch, “well, I learned something new about the Bible today!”
As I write this reflection, I realize that the majority of our time at FPC has included involvement with Faith Formation classes. Our children have grown up in the Sunday classes, nurtured by a countless number of caring teachers. Keith and I have been fortunate to play a small part in this vibrant and enriching community, which is so devoted to the spiritual growth and care of its members. Out of gratitude, we give a portion of our time, talents, and treasure to support FPC’s ministry and mission each year.
~ Carolyn, Keith, Mary Ellis, & William Merritt
Community
I love and treasure the people in FPC's community, from the choir where Kate and I met to Faith Formation classes our children attend. But to me, the way we build community is much bigger than just the wonderful people – from the staff and volunteers who care for our building, sanctuary, and grounds, to those who support our walk-in ministry for people who need help with rent and energy bills. Community includes the "church invisible," those who have gone before us and from their labors rest, the labors that produced the church we all inherit. The idea of community is more than just a nice idea—I wrote my graduate thesis on how community works in the context of community land ownership in rural Scotland. I ended up spending a lot of time trying to figure out what community really meant. In the end, I decided to follow anthropologist Stephen Gudeman's definition: a community always surrounds something we hold in common. No commons, no community, and vice versa.
The word *koinonia* in Acts often gets translated as "Christian fellowship," but the word *koine* in Greek means "common," as in "not elite." I hold onto *koinonia* as what we are called to be as a Christian community—church is the commons that binds our community.
Nobel-winning economist Elinor Ostrom noted that commons don't work unless people are both giving to the commons and receiving from it. We as a family receive so much from FPC. But that would feel hollow if we did not also contribute what we can to it.
Giving our time and tithe to FPC isn't just to support the community. It's part of *being* the community, the koinonia. When community blooms as it does at FPC, giving stops being a chore and becomes a joy.
~ Michael, Kathryn, Ben, & Josie Bacon