When You Hesitate To Give...

Giving can feel intimidating and scary and risky…and that’s exactly what the devil wants you to feel. Bold statement? Yes! But think about it for a second…do you shift your weight when it’s time for the collection at Mass? Do you look down at your lap when the basket is passed under your nose?

Giving can feel uncomfortable because as students or young adults or anyone really, money always feels tight. But there’s a ton of ways you can give and support the Church other than financial contributions, like prayer, offering your time, whether that’s through volunteering or taking a minute to fill out that parish survey, or maybe it’s through sacrificing your pride or excuses to attend a bible study. The last thing we want is for you to feel shame or embarrassment when it comes to giving, but we also want to help you overcome what might be holding you back.

When it comes to overcoming our fears to give financially, we wanted to share a few things to consider:

1) Former venture capitalist David Chilton encourages us to think about how easy it is to adjust to a raise in pay. After about three months, we pretty much forget that our income increased by $5, $50, or $100/month. Similarly, when we give $5+ a month, our finances also adjust incredibly quickly! Chilton uses this example to demonstrate how we can overcome our fears of investing our money…and what better way to invest your money than in the future of the Church?!

2) $5/month really does make a difference here. It’s not just jargon! $5/month rounds out to $60 a year, which is the average price of attending a Penn undergraduate retreat which, as we know, can have a huge influence on someone’s life.

3) Every time you give, it’s an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is, ie, you are both saying and acting out: Jesus, I trust in you. I know that you will provide. I know that you give so much more as you take away, especially when we give away willingly out of our own free will.

Still, we know not everyone has beaucoup bucks to give, especially since the bulk of our parish is comprised of students. Our parish offertory only accounts for 13% of our income, which is lower than the national average. But we do have a few special ways to give that we created just for you:

1) You can choose how much to give for your automatic monthly gift. Start at $5 and see how easy it is to adjust to this new expense! You can just set it up here one time.

2) You can opt into our Hi-5 Campaign! We are hoping to get 500 people to give just $5/month. Opt in here.

3) No cash, no problemo! Give on venmo for the Sunday collection @saints-aj.

4) Seniors! We would love for you to continue to make an impact even after you leave! Check out your class gift here!

We can’t thank you enough for all of your continual support of the Newman Center at St. AJs!