Pastoral note, from Garrett
Peloton, Allbirds, the Oura Ring, and Brooklinen. What do these companies have in common? They all used Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site, to get the capital they needed to “kickstart” their business.
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website that helps people raise money to bring creative projects to life. Instead of getting a bank loan or finding a wealthy investor, you ask lots of people to contribute smaller amounts toward a fundraising goal.
Baptist churches are among the original crowdfunding institutions. We pool our resources to make possible what none of us could accomplish alone. But unlike a Kickstarter campaign, our goal isn't simply to produce something and deliver it to our supporters. We're funding an ongoing work of creation—and we're all invited to participate in bringing it to life.
What are we bringing to life? What are we creating? Here are a few things your generosity has created this year:
3,129 meals for the SA Food Bank
“BE WELL” Church Retreat with 96 people
MLK March w/ 28 people from Woodlanders alongside friends from Antioch Missionary Baptist
Summer Family Fellowship Nights with an average of 55 people per night.
4,500 Lunches packed for our homeless neighbors
Support for missionaries like the Lees in North Macedonia and Elket Rodriguez in the Rio Grande Valley
ESL classes
Dementia Caregivers Support Group
Child of God Bed Ministry
Here are a few things your continued generosity will create through the rest of the year:
A Habitat House for Christina Moreno
A Sanctuary Choir Concert on December 6
A community that responds to its members' needs with meals, cards, and calls
Events: All Saints Breakfast, Woodland Thanksgiving, Gift-Making Workshop, Healing & Hope Service, Parents Night Out, and LifeTimers.
This year we have been focusing on belonging. We’ve been trying to create a community where people can be known, be loved, and belong. Belonging doesn’t just happen. It takes curating connectedness. It takes tending the ties that bind.
Interestingly, the companies I listed above didn’t just raise funding to create their products. They built a community that believed in what they were trying to create. Together, we aren’t just funding an institution. We’re creating a community that continually invests in what we believe we can create together.
We still have a long way to go to meet our financial needs this year, and we need your help to keep this creative work flourishing. We know this has been a financially difficult year for many, and we are grateful for every gift, whatever its size. But if you are in a position to give an additional gift, would you consider doing so today? Your generosity makes it possible for Woodland to continue creating a sacred community of belonging.
Grace and peace,
Garrett Vickrey