“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” –1 Peter 4:10
Dear SPUMC Members & Friends:
Think about this question: How has being part of The United Methodist Church shaped your life and faith?
Whether you were raised in Methodism, are new to Methodism, been a long-time member of the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church, or are new to SPUMC; being United Methodist makes a difference in this world. We all have our own story of how we came to faith, how we came to be United Methodist and how we came to be part of the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church.
One of the things I appreciate about being United Methodist is that we have the opportunity to plant the seeds of hope in people’s lives near to us and around the world. We really do determine the quality of tomorrow by the seeds we plant today.
I also appreciate being part of a Reconciling congregation within our United Methodist denomination. We have made an intentional statement at SPUMC to answer the call of Jesus to love our neighbor by embracing every person as a full participant in our faith community, including people of all ages, nations, races, abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities.
Part of our SPUMC story is that we are remaining faithfully United Methodist in the midst of a year in which 43 churches within our Wisconsin Conference have disaffiliated from The UMC over issues of human sexuality and the inclusion of all people in the full life of the church.
This month in worship and through other communication, our theme will be Keep Our Story Growing. We will hear one another’s faith stories and our stories of why we are United Methodist and what we love and appreciate about The UMC.
Please take time to read the enclosed narrative budget brochure that will give you a look into our story and the stewardship commitment needed for 2024. Near the end of October, you will receive another mailing asking you to prayerfully consider how you will invest in keeping our story growing in and through SPUMC.
It is good to be part of The United Methodist Church and to share ministry at SPUMC.
Rev. Jenny Arneson
Lead Pastor
2023 Capital Campaign Information
The Sun Prairie United Methodist Church has been a presence of God’s love and hope since 1845. In that year, 11 members formed a ‘Methodist Class,’ which formed the church. In 2020, we will celebrate our 175th year of being a faith community in Sun Prairie! It is amazing to think about all the lives touched by our ministry in those now 177 years.
The current church building was built on its present location in 1962 and celebrates having nearly 900 members and friends. Many changes and additions have taken place to the church building since 1962, with the most recent changes be completed in 2013.
Our church building has allowed our faith community to continue to be a strong outpost of hope in God’s kingdom. The church building is literally used seven days a week for our worship, Christian education, caring ministries, children and youth ministries, small group ministries, and music ministries. We also offer our church building as community space for the Sun Prairie Nursery School, 4-year-old kindergarten classes, WORC (a work opportunity agency), theatre groups, scout troops, choirs, blood drives, gatherings for our United Methodist Conference Center and other community gatherings.
This next 3-year capital campaign, which will offer pledges for 2023-2026, will use the skills and talents of staff and others within our church community to help make the campaign successful instead of using an outside company to assist us. The theme of our campaign is Keep Our Story Growing.
This Keep Our Story Growing Capital Campaign will focus on:
•Sharing our faith stories and keeping our story of faith growing as we share gratitude for the ministry our church building allows us to do and how our building blesses those who use and depend upon our facility. In this 3-year campaign, we are looking to eliminate our remaining loan balance of approximately $793,480 (with interest).
•Including our 2023 annual stewardship campaign to support the annual church budget of approximately $700,000.
Please take time to prayerfully and gratefully think about how our wonderful building allows our ministries to continue and how we use our building to extend the hospitality of God’s love to our community neighbors. Thank you for considering your part in this campaign effort.
Memorial Gifts
Received May, 2022 through May, 2023
“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. Thanks be to God.” –Romans 14:8
As each day passes, we gain a deeper sense of how our lives are enriched by other people. Our joys are multiplied and our sorrows divided. Our spirits are bolstered and our fears diminished. All of this we know to be the gift of a loving God.
We dedicate gifts that have been given in memory of loved ones and give thanks to God for these treasured people of our lives. Through tangible gifts, we honor people who have encouraged us, loved us, guided us, brought us joy and who have been at our side in times of struggle. In our remembering, we claim again the love and joy we have known through these persons.
IN MEMORY OF:
Bruce Babcock & Janet Olson
Carol Davis
Penny DeMott
Maxine Dull
Ruth Lehr
Jeanine Lohr
Jo Mainwood
Bob Nonte
Dee Pogue
Jean Schenck
John Schneiter
Gerry Wiessinger
Lowell Zirbel
Items Purchased or Funded with Memorial Gifts this Year:
Canopies for Outdoor Worship
Portable Sound System
Clavinova
High Accessible Chair
Sitting Chairs & Small Table in Fellowship Hall
Gifts toward the Greenspace Project
Thank you for a total of $16,370 given in Memorial Gifts this year to the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church.