Real talk. Warning: Meddling.
This summer, anytime we've had one of those rare unscheduled days and my kids start asking by 7:30am, "What are we going to do today?", they have now learned the answer from me will always be the same. "Well, if we want to go somewhere, let's go to one of the places we have a membership." Through the years, we've been blessed to receive different memberships as a gift or had the wiggle room in our budget to purchase memberships at a variety of all the amazing things Atlanta has to offer. The kids' interests (and our tolerance for crowds) has ebbed and flowed with great organizations we love to support like local museums, pools, etc. (I don't even want to confess how much the 'frequent diner clubs' have schnookered me into more food purchases than I would have normally indulged without signing up for the rewards programs!) Just this Sunday, a few of our friends said goodbye after worship and said they were headed to lunch & Fernbank to play for the afternoon. Brilliant! Why hadn't I thought of heading straight there when we had a membership?!
But here's the hard question...are you giving AND receiving all that your church membership offers? Most of our family ministries and community outreach ministries like support groups are free to all - no membership required - but of course they are not *actually* free. Every craft kit, bounce house rental, gallon of gas in the church bus, rights to music purchased, and therapist booked costs money and we are so grateful for the generosity of so many faithful Glenn Memorial UMC church members who support all of our ministries with your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Despite the wild summer schedules for everyone, we continue year-round with Worship services, ministries for all ages & stages, opportunities to serve others, fellowship in small groups and faith formation in studies - including the Summer Lecture Series that offers Emory University faculty lectures for free!
I hope the next Sunday morning you find yourself asking, "What are we going to do today?" that the answer will be "Go to Glenn Church, of course!" Because just like whenever I drag my whining kids off their devices to the car and show up at a place I know they love, we all end up having a much better time together than we would at home. And while I suppose our annual pledge campaign is sorta like an expiration date that invites you to continue with your annual support, unlike most all of the other places, there's actually no admission price for members or non-members. We won't be checking your cards...though I'm not above making a cute punchcard to incentivize showing up!
See you soon at the best deal in town!
– Rev. Susan Pinson
