St. Peter's donation box
Stewardship
Click here for Giving Chart | Click here for Pledge Card
Dear Friends,
When we stop to reflect on how much God has given us, we should remember that all that we have and all that we are belongs to God. Eventually everything we have and all that we are does indeed return to God, and so while we are here on earth we have the blessing of using these gifts as God would have us use them.
When we give something to a loved one, what matters most is not so much the gift itself as the amount of love that goes into that gift. So it is with God. God loves us so much that God was willing to give Jesus to be a sign of Christ’s love for this sinful and broken world.
Out of gratitude for that gift we now have an opportunity to return a portion of what we have received and dedicate that gift to the church, which is a visible sign of Christ’s presence here on earth.
Your generosity has made so very much possible in the past. I know you will want to continue, and increase that giving as you contemplate your stewardship giving. Please give this matter your prayerful thought and make your commitment using the enclosed pledge card. Our goal as a parish is to be entirely self supportive and not to use any capital funds from our Endowment. We will need about $80,000 in pledges this year to reach our goal. We can do it!
Our pledge treasurer, Jinny Lavoie, is the only person in the parish who knows what each one pledges. She will notify the Vestry when she receives our pledges. A member of the vestry will then be in touch with you to thank you for your gift.
In the meantime, I want to thank you now in advance for the love and grace you give to St. Peter’s Church already.
Thank you for your wonderful generosity, your time and your talent.
Fr. Paul,
Patti Rocci, Senior Warden
Proportional Giving:
“It is not the amount that we give; it is the amount of love that goes into the gift that counts.”
As we pray together over our stewardship of all that God has given us, I do hope you will give the matter of proportional giving some thought and prayer. I have shared the following chart with your vestry. They were genuinely interested in measuring where they stood in proportion to what proportional giving suggests for us by way of a standard for giving. Many have already increased their pledges. Many more will do so for 2008.
The 1% Solution:
Many of us use the biblical standard, which is 10%. Some of us use the so-called “modern tithe” of 5% as a standard. It is important not to become pharisaical about giving. After all, ultimately what you give is between you and God anyway. Rather, let me suggest that you look at what you give now and then consider prayerfully what it would take to give the next higher percentage point of your income. If we all did that our church’s ministry would be strengthened in a very significant way. Feel free to imagine the possible. Strengthen us our world would fall into utter chaos. Thus to keep the sin of disobedience and self-seeking and self-absorbing ways in check, we provide for the church. The church pulls us out of ourselves and gives us a reason for living. It gives us a mission and a purpose to seek peace and justice for all, to respond to human suffering and bring the healing presence of Jesus into the world.
Pledging, Giving, Generosity and Stewardship
What is the biblical and theological basis for stewardship?
From the earliest times, the "first fruits" of what we have received have been returned to God as a sign of our faithful response to God's generosity. The biblical mandate of the "tithe" or 10% of our income was firmly established in ancient times (Deuteronomy 14:6). Since then the Christian tradition has set the free will standard and proportional giving as the normative standard for giving. The by-word is "free will" and "generosity". Thus given the fact that God has given us everything that we have and all that we are, we in turn, by nature want to make provision for God's church.
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is the idea that all that we are and all that we have are only ours for as long as we live. In point of fact, everything is God's and we are asked by God to use what is given to us for the Glory of God and in service to humanity. This is to fulfill the commandment of God that we love God and our neighbor as we do ourselves.
Why do we give to God's Church?
We believe that the church is the living body of Christ, and that we are constituent members of Christ through baptism. The Eucharist feeds us weekly with the life of Jesus and thus we are given strength and guidance to serve God and humankind because the church sustains and guides us. Without the church to guide and strengthen us our world would fall into utter chaos. Thus to keep the sin of disobedience and self-seeking and self-absorbing ways in check, we provide for the church. The church pulls us out of ourselves and gives us a reason for living. It gives us a mission and a purpose to seek peace and justice for all, to respond to human suffering and bring the healing presence of Jesus into the world.
How much should we give?
Typically we give in proportion to what we have received. The normative proportion as prescribed by the bible is 10% of our income. The modern tithe is 5%. It is reasonable to hope that if we all give 1% more of our income than we do now our church’s strength would increase significantly and we would become self-supportive. If you give 3% or your income now, please consider giving 4%. If you are giving 4% please consider 5%, and so on. If we want St. Peter’s to continue past its 275th anniversary, we will have to become self supportive within the next few years.
How much does it cost to operate St. Peter’s Church each year?
The annual budget for 2007 cost us $166,752.
What does that work out to weekly?
Simple arithmetic gives us that number. We need $3206 each week in income to break even. Thankfully we have rental and investment income to help us out. The portion of that amount that needs to come from pledges to break even weekly is $1600.
How much income do we receive from the following?
- Pledges and envelopes and free will offerings give us about $70,175 annually.
- Investment income generates about $55,000 annually
- Rental income gives us about $14,000
- Fund raisers will give us about $8,000 per year.
How much to we spend on the following every year?
- Mission: $22,300
- Program: $900
- Staff and benefits: $81,600
- Building costs: $44,652
How much was our projected deficit this year:
We projected a deficit of $25,577 and ultimately we did have to take $15,000 from our Endowment to pay bills and to get us to the end of this year. We do have to pull together to make ends meet. Oil costs will hit us harder this year. And so may God move the hearts of many to generosity and the joy of giving this year. May God prosper St. Peter’s.