A MESSAGE FROM REV. LINDSEY ALTVATER CLIFTON: BRINGING THE BEST OF OURSELVES
Greetings friends,
This week we gather to conclude our Stewardship season and celebrate Pledge Dedication Sunday as we offer our intentions for supporting the shared ministry that is First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem. This is one way in which we are collectively part of building A Future with Hope here and now, by contributing our gifts and pledging ourselves and our resources to Christ’s work in the world through this community of faith.
We’ll hear a final story of God’s faithfulness to the 
Israelites, our wilderness wandering companions, which offers us the promise of Jubilee. And we’ll consider together how we are also called to such a Stewardship practice which in turn forms us into those who more fully seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
In addition to continuing your prayerful discernment about how you might be called to practice generosity in your own stewardship for 2025, I also invite you to reflect on your hopes for our congregation and your intentions for engaging in communal life. In this season of transition, we need folks to bring the best of themselves which means seeking connection with and support from one another and from God.
How are you being called to participate in the life of our congregation with more depth and meaning? Where in your spiritual life might you need rest or care? Who from FPCB might you reach out to for such support or encouragement? How might you cultivate a vision for our church’s future that comes from a place of trust and reassurance rather than worry or insecurity?
During times of change, it can be challenging to embody a practice of Jubilee – change doesn’t always feel jubilant or worth celebrating, after all – but a posture of gratitude, joy, and renewal is essential for charting the path toward A Future with Hope.
May we inch a bit closer to that reality each day, dear ones!
Blessings for the journey together,
Lindsey