Sharing Our Faith: Marilee Lindbeck

I have been coming to Cove since Dillon was 2 ½ years old.  He is now 26.  George was just embarking on his career at the UVA emergency department.  We lived here in Covesville on our farm.  We came to church together and we came pretty regularly.  As time went on, George was more about his rare weekends off and I was not leaving my church to hang out with him on Sunday mornings.

I knew that it was good to give something to your church when the plate came around.  I have absolutely no recollection of what we gave back then.  Then there were a few good sermons and stewardship messages over the years that made me pay more attention to our giving and what that really was supposed to mean.  I am still learning about what stewardship means.

Anyway, once George made it clear that church was my thing and not his, we had to have a conversation about the support I wanted to give to Cove.  So that was when I began to figure what I could give to my church.  I always have had to take into account that George is the wage earner and I am the church-goer.  But the great thing is, George has clearly recognized how important Cove is to me.  So I have maintained regular monthly checks and each year I have increased that by a certain amount.  It adds up over time.

There have been times over the years when it seemed to me that my monthly giving was just helping to pay the bills.  But as my faith has grown, so has my understanding of the need to help Cove be here for me.  The building itself, yes, but more importantly, what happens within when we are all gathered here.  And it seems to me, that the more funds we have available, the more we want to give.  Our mission outreach makes me very proud to be a part of this congregation.  I am in for the long haul!

Marilee is a member of the newly formed stewardship team.