“Come and Worship” will be the theme of Wilshire’s fall stewardship emphasis, leading into the Advent season.

In a unique twist, all worshippers are invited to place $1 bills in the offering plate each Sunday, in addition to whatever tithes and offerings they normally give. This special Thank Offering will be taken every Sunday morning in October, November and December.

Offering plates will be passed not only through the pews, but also across the chancel and through the choir. The dollar bills should not be placed in offering envelopes but should be placed loose in the plates. Children, youth and adults alike are encouraged to participate.

After the offertory, the offering plates will be brought to the altar as the congregation sings Doxology.

The point of the Thank Offering is not to raise a huge sum of money, but to demonstrate that stewardship is an act of worship in which everyone can participate, said Gladys Kolenovsky, chairwoman of the Stewardship Development Committee.

“The goal of our stewardship development ministry is to allow all our congregation to practice the biblical core values of stewardship, no matter our age or wealth,” she explained. “We will experience the joy of giving that is intentional; each of us will come to worship on Sunday morning having planned to bring a dollar bill. Our giving will be regular; we will establish a weekly pattern of giving and follow it for the season. Our giving will be cheerful; how joyful it will be to see what God can accomplish when we join together as a congregation in thanks giving.”

The seasonal theme of “Come and Worship” intentionally ties stewardship to worship more than to money, Gladys added. “We worship not only with praise and adoration but also thanksgiving. Our grateful hearts worship with thanksgiving when we recognize that all that we have comes from and belongs to God.”

In November, all congregants will be invited to “Try the Tithe.” Tithing is the biblical concept of giving 10 percent of one’s income to God’s work.

“The Bible calls us to proportional giving,” Gladys said. “We are encouraged to give in proportion to the blessings we have received. The tithe, or 10 percent, is the best example of the Bible’s teaching of proportional giving. The purpose of the tithe is to teach us always to put God first in our lives.”

While many members of the congregation already practice tithing, for this one month, all congregants are encouraged to try tithing as an act of spiritual discipline.

“If one action could bring us into a greater intimacy and abiding presence with the God and creator of the universe, wouldn’t we want to take that one action for 30 days?” Gladys asked. “We encourage each other to try this experiment that requires us to lean on the Lord in faith and watch the creative ways God provides for us, blesses us and brings us closer to God.”

In December, the “Come and Worship” theme will merge into the Advent season, drawing on a line from the Christmas carol “Angels from the Realms of Glory.” That line admonishes Christians to “come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King.”