For Those Who Are Able
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35Churches rely on the generosity of those who participate in their ministries, services and activities to operate. Because Union Grove reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a new tradition for collecting offerings. We don’t “pass the plate.” Instead, we keep a container in our narthex where you can leave an offering and we provide a way that you can make an offering online through Tithely, a secure giving platform. We also provide options in the form of five funds (four of which are designated funds), allowing you to make your wishes known as to how your offering is used by the church:
- General Fund – offerings made to the general fund are used to pay the monthly expenses of the church which include utilities (electric, water, propane), insurance, maintenance and repairs, procuring or replacing printed materials, property taxes (yes, we pay property taxes), and 50% of our pastor’s salary (the Conference pays the other 50%). Our annual budget for these general operating expenses is approximately $24,000 per year.
- Second Sunday Community of Faith – 100% of the offerings made to this fund are distributed to local and national organizations relevant to this ministry. In the past, we have contributed to Smoky Mountain Junior Appalachian Musicians and to the Rainbow Youth Project.
- Bruno Missions – 100% of the offerings made to our Bruno Missions fund are used to develop, expand, and subsidize our on-site mission projects. You can learn more about our Bruno Projects by clicking on the link.
- Church Library – We intend for our church library to be accessible to members, guests of Bruno I, and visitors. While we have relatively good collections of church-related books, we are hoping to expand our collections to include books that are of interest to or will in some way benefit our guests and members in terms of learning life and vocational skills, encourage reading in our younger guests, and that reflect the diversity of all God’s children. We also intend to collect and preserve banned books, especially those that help youth and younger children understand the world around them and the beauty of all God has created. Just as Union Grove is a church “Where y’all really means ALL,” we are a church where we believe “y’all really should read ALL.” All offerings received in this account will be used to build our book collections.
- In Memoriam – You may have a loved one who attended Union Grove at some time or who you feel would have supported our current ministries that you would like to honor in some way. Offerings into Memoriam are specifically for doing so. If you make an offering to this fund, please use our contact form to send us your wishes for how best to honor your loved one.
To make an offering to any of these funds, please see below:
The button above leads to our “Giving Form” at Tithe.ly. Tithely is a secure online giving platform for churches. You may be asked to create an account on Tithely. The account is free and your contact information is protected. When you use tithely, the only information we see is the amount you offered, the fund you chose, and your email address. Like Tithely, we protect your contact information that we do see. If you have any questions, please contact our pastor.
For those who do not like to make financial transactions online:
For those that prefer to not use online payment methods, your offering can be mailed to:
Union Grove UMC
1151 Lane Drive
Friendsville, TN 37737
Please make your check payable to “Union Grove UMC,” and if you are making your offering to one of our four designated funds, please write the name of the fund on the memo line of your check.