SHARING YOUR RESOURCES WITH ECLC

Have you pledged?

• If you have pledged a contribution to ECLC for 2008, thank you!
• If you have not pledged and would like to, thank you! It's helpful to the congregation as we make spending decisions You do NOT have to wait until the usual Fall Stewardship Drive..
• If you'd like to give but not pledge, we encourage you to pledge but will happily and thankfully accept your contributions.

If you are a newer member and no one has asked you to pledge, we're sorry! Lutherans can tend to be that way about money matters. We don't want you to feel left out, so here's an overview of pledging and giving at ECLC.

Do you have to pledge?

No! We encourage everyone to give, but not everyone pledges. Some people can't pledge and some people prefer not to pledge.

To pledge:

You can pledge any time of the year by calling or emailing one of the pastors or the church office. Just make sure you're clear on how much and how often so we don't think it's weekly when you mean monthly. If you prefer to use a pledge card for 2006, you can print one from this page.

Pledges also are made during the Fall Stewardship effort each year. Each household is asked to pledge for the following calendar year. At that time, you also are asked to pledge your time and talents. Again, we welcome your time and talents any time of the year.

To give:

You have almost as many options to give financially as you do to give your time and talents:

1. Give via this website! Click on the link at the top of this page.
2. Offering Envelopes: If you are a member, you receive offering envelopes identified with your name and a number. Simply drop them in the offering plate or in the mail.
3. No Envelope: If you don't have an envelope or don't have yours handy, you can write a check (add your "offering number" to the memo line if you know it). Pew envelopes also can be used instead of personalized envelopes, especially if you're giving cash (add your name, amount and "offering number" to the front of the envelope).
4. Electronic Withdrawal: Give all or part of your pledge via "Simply Giving" (see below).
5. Stock, etc: you want to give stock or real estate, or some other form of contribution, just call one of the pastors to make arrangements.
6. Bequeath: If you want to make ECLC a beneficiary in your will, perhaps designating a percentage of your estate, talk with your attorney and with the pastors.

To help:

Offering envelopes are more than just a convenience for members. They give ECLC a record of your contribution that stays at the church...something to check against if there's a question. Each week, offering plate contributions are counted each week by ECLC member-volunteers. Here are a few tips to make their job easier.

1. Your check or cash goes to the bank the same day it is counted . Your used empty envelope stays at ECLC for our records, so the envelope MUST have the amount of the contribution (not just an "X") on the outside in the appropriate blank. If you don't write it in, the counters have to stop to do that for each envelope not filled out.
2. Likewise, if you don't use a personalized envelope, please write your "envelope number" on the check's memo line or on a pew envelope, along with the amount.
3. If you miss a few envelopes between offerings, just toss them and use the one dated for the current Sunday (even if it contains more than a week's contribution.

Automated Contributions

Click here for a Simply Giving enrollment form

Have you forgotten to write checks toward your ECLC pledge this summer? Or maybe it's just tricky to remember your checkbook on Sundays. We can help you remember.

ECLC offers you the opportunity to give automatedcontributions from your bank account to ECLC's bank account using a program called "Simply Giving®." You can stop it if you need to and increase it whenever you like. ECLC enrolled in this Thrivent Financial program to make it easier for you to give. You are not required to be a Thrivent member or to own or buy any Thrivent products. The service is FREE to you and to ECLC. Thrivent provides "Simply Giving" as a community service. You simply fill out the form (below) and get it to the ECLC church office along with a voided check or deposit slip.

You determine:

• which of your bank accounts the money comes from;
• how much money;
• how often (weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.);
• how much of your pledge will be given automatically. If you'd like to give some money via envelopes, that's fine;
• to which account at ECLC (regular giving, Mission giving, other designated giving, etc.)

Automated giving helps ECLC, too, because it can even out the usual seasonal peaks and valleys of contributions.

Don't get us wrong. If you prefer to put your check or envelope in the offering plate yourself, you are most welcome to do that. The church office even has stickers you can put on your envelope to flag it as representative of a "Simply Giving" donation.