Original Congregational Church in Wrentham, MA

What We Believe About Giving and Faith

As Christians, we support our faith with both monetary gifts as well as with gifts of our time and talent. Each fall, our Church conducts a stewardship drive which highlights the financial needs of the Church and the missions it supports. Our campaign is vital to securing pledges from the local church membership and friends of the congregation so that the Church can sustain and grow its efforts.

However, giving comes from the heart and how much one contributes is up to the individual. And while the United Church of Christ (UCC) provides information regarding pledging for local stewardship committees to share with their congregations, the OCC expects it members to support their church.

Eye on the Prize

Article published from the UCC stewardship book: Inspiring Generosity
One of the leading scholars on the Psalms, Claus Westermann, notes that there is no word for “thank” in Hebrew. He says that in all known languages, “to thank” is clearly derived from other, more complex verbs, as in both German and English, where “to thank” (danken) is a variant of the verb “to think” (denken). Westermann points out that the way thanks is expressed in the Russian language is much closer to the Hebrew sense of thanks. The Russian words for “thanks” has the precise meaning, “to give honor.”

In the Bible, there is no independent concept of thanks. The expression of thanks to God is included in “praise.” It is a way of praising—a way of giving honor to God—because “to praise” means to give honor. It has to do with what we prize, which is the older English word from which we get our word “praise.” Praising is “prizing” or “giving honor” to something we cherish. In the Bible, thanking is only a part of praise and secondary to it. Merely saying “thank you” has no stand-alone meaning or value.

All this is to say that in the Bible, stewardship in the sense of abundance and generosity is first doxology, giving praise, before it is gratitude, giving thanks.

Praising gives honor to something we cherish. Thanking reciprocates for something we have received. Praising focuses on what makes gifts and blessings possible in the first place, an abundance that is compelling in its own right: life itself. Thanking focuses on the gifts and blessings themselves. None of this is to knock the idea of giving thanks in the theology or motivation of giving. It is to say that, for the Bible, giving “thanks”—gratitude—is secondary as an incentive for giving, secondary and a part of giving “praise—giving to honor something we prize or cherish.

Make Your Pledge or a Donation

The OCC is pleased to accept any donations or pledges from members and friends of the Church. Donations to the church may be made at any time. They can be placed in the offering plate on Sunday, left in the church office or mailed to the church at P.O. Box 657, Wrentham, MA 02093.

Pledges may be made to Local Missions (Operations) and/or Wider Missions (Outreach). Pledges are very helpful because they allow the Church to anticipate the operating and/or outreach income and plan accordingly. Pledges can always be changed if your circumstances change. A pledge form can be obtained by clicking on this link.