Dear UMFNE,

I am writing to give thanks for your support of our efforts to offer help to individuals and families wanting to get a better understanding of God’s hope for their lives and in particular their lives in relation to personal financial health.  I was delighted with the response we had to offering the Freed Up Financial Living: How to Get There with Biblical Principles study.  Our approach was to offer it to four congregations and community members.  We placed an invitation in the local newspapers, at our food pantry and sent information out to the four UMC congregations in our area.  We met this last August and covered the six lessons in three – 2 ½ hour sessions.  This worked well for those attending but may not for all groups.  The first class was attended by four families in the congregations and three from the community/food pantry.   

I consider this Good $ense study a valuable resource that gives the basics for honoring God with our use of money.  The course touches on several current day realities and myths that people face and offers concrete ways to work with ones own financial situation and debunk the myths of consumerism that have lead many to over extend financially.

Our follow up plan is to offer the course as a take home curriculum, during the food pantry hours, through the local clergy resource list, and again at one of the congregations in a year or two. 

Again, thank you for your grant and moral support that helped us get this financial health initiative started. 

 In Christ,

Rev. Kathleen H.N. Towns - Pastor

Hannah Tenney Memorial UMC & Pleasant Street UMC

Salem, NH