Stewardship 2010
Fr. Warren's Stewardship Sermon
A Brief Reflection on the 2009 Canvass
The Vestry's Formal Statement on Tithing
Frequently Asked Questions about Pledging
A Brief Reflection on the 2009 Stewardship Canvass
I am filled with awe and gratitude at the stupendous generosity shown by the parishioners of the Church of the Advent during the 2009 Stewardship Canvass. In the midst of financial worries, widespread belt-tightening, and sometimes harrowing circumstances, Adventers gave of themselves beyond expectations. By your generosity you proclaimed the Gospel message that should be at the heart of any Stewardship effort: you let go of fear and the desire for self-preservation, you put your trust in God, and opened yourselves to His transforming grace. Your support makes possible God’s work in the world, via the ministries and programs of the Advent. On behalf of the Stewardship Committee, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done. Stewardship is an ongoing endeavor, so let us bid adieu to 2009 and prepare for the work that lies ahead in 2010.
The 2010 Stewardship Canvass
Based on feedback about last year’s canvass materials, the aim of this year’s brochure is to explain clearly the basic terminology of Stewardship. These words get bandied about rather casually at this time of the year: the word Stewardship itself, as well as Membership, Pledging, Giving, and Tithing. These terms may be familiar or they may be brand new; either way, it is important to reflect upon and understand them in order to make a full and mindful commitment to the Advent. Following the explanation of terms, we present a summary on how to become a member of the Advent, some Frequently Asked Questions about Pledging, and a prayer of self-dedication. Whether this comes to you as a primer for newcomers or as a refresher course for renewing members, we hope these materials will help you as you pray about making a pledge of support to the Advent.
If you pledged last year, I hope you will continue to support the Parish in the coming year. If you are a newcomer, I invite you to join our efforts by making a pledge and becoming a part of the fabric of our community. If you have any questions that are not covered here, please don’t hesitate to contact the Parish Office or reach out to a member of the Stewardship committee (Jarvis Coffin, Jason B. Grant, Vance Hosford, Philip LeQuesne).
In Christ,
Jason B. Grant, Chair, Stewardship Committee
Stewardship
Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to remember that Stewardship is not, first and foremost, about fundraising. Rather, it is the practice of caring for the bounty of Creation and the gifts of creativity and life which God has bestowed on each of us. As such, Stewardship should involve the giving of our time, talent, and worldly possessions. One expression of Stewardship is becoming a member of, or maintaining one’s membership in, the Parish.
Membership
You do not have to be an official member of the Parish to worship at the Advent. Everyone is welcome to worship with us and all baptized Christians are welcome to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
Membership in the Parish, however, is a wonderful way to strengthen your relationship with your neighbors and with God.
Membership in the Parish is a wonderful way to make an intentional commitment to be part of something larger than yourself, to be a part of a Christian community, united in our love of God and God’s love for us even though we may come from very different places.
Membership in the Parish is a way of formalizing your spiritual discipline of Stewardship to which God in Christ calls each of us daily.
The Parish receives no financial assistance from the National Church or the Diocese. The programs and ministries of the Parish are funded almost completely by the financial contributions of our members and the more we receive in pledge income the better we are equipped to serve the needs of our community. We very much hope that all those who decide to make the Advent their parish home will become members, contributing financially, as well as with their gifts of time and talent.
How does one become a member of the Advent? That brings us to the topic of pledging.
Pledging
Joining an Episcopal Church is very easy, and the Advent is no exception. All you have to do is come regularly and make a financial pledge. A pledge is the promise to give a certain amount of money in the coming year (2010). The amount of that pledge is itself up to each individual and is used in the budget planning process. What is most important is that you make a commitment to share with others the gifts that God has given you in proportion to your income and means, and that you reexamine the level of that commitment regularly, again as part of your spiritual practice.
A pledge card is enclosed with this brochure. They are also available at the back of the church or you may contact the parish office to get one. Information about ways to give of your time and talent can be found on the church’s website, http://www.theadvent.org.
Giving
Once your pledge has been recorded in the parish office, it then becomes your responsibility during the year 2010 to fulfill the pledge. Your financial contributions will be recorded toward that fulfillment. Both pledging and giving are required to gain full membership in the church: the pledge puts you on record as a member, but actual giving qualifies you to vote at Annual Meeting.
A very specific type of giving is the tithe, which is an often used but largely misunderstood Stewardship term. Tithing is a practice with deep historical and spiritual roots. Here’s what our own Vestry has to say about it:
The Vestry's Formal Statement on Tithing
The Stewardship of the bounty of creation and the gifts of creativity and life which God has bestowed on each of us is a responsibility and an obligation of every Christian. It is an undeniable prerequisite for the spiritual life and for spiritual growth:
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:38)
Stewardship should involve time, talent, and worldly possessions.
With regard to the goods of this world, Holy Scripture presents the tithe, one tenth of one's goods, as the standard, indeed the norm, of giving. This is made clear in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus:
"All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. . . . And all the tithe of lands and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff shall be holy to the Lord." (Leviticus 27:30, 32)"
The tithe as a standard is so much a part of Hebrew faith and practice that in the New Testament it goes without saying. This is clear from Luke 18:12 and Matthew 23:23. While the main points of Jesus's teaching in these passages are humility and sincerity, in both He simply assumes the tithe to be the standard, norm, and practice of God's people.
Mindful of its responsibility for the welfare of The Parish of the Advent and eager to promote the spiritual life and growth of its individual members, the Vestry at its meeting on March 19, 2002 unanimously adopted the Biblical Tithe, one tenth, as the Standard of Giving to which its own members and members of the Parish are urged to aspire.
A Guide to Becoming Members of the Advent for the Year 2010
Having considered these basic terms, let’s see how a pair of committed churchgoers - let’s call them Moe and Mabel - would put them into practice.
1. Moe and Mabel decide to commit (or re-commit) themselves to the Advent, and submit a completed pledge card by Advent Sunday, November 29, 2009, which will be our 2010 Stewardship Ingathering. Their pledge is calculated into budget planning, but they are not yet full members. They should not give any money for the new year when submitting the pledge card. The pledges are collected in advance of the new budget year. Any actual gifts submitted with a pledge card, unless specified as a contribution for 2010, would be considered as gifts for 2009.
2. Moe and Mabel begin giving toward their pledge amount in 2010 (paid in full or in installments; the options are listed on the pledge card). They are recorded as full members of the church.
3. Having pledged and given in 2010, Moe and Mabel will be eligible to vote at the annual meeting in January 2011. They are also eligible to participate in the ministries and offices of the church.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pledging
Why should I pledge?
Spiritually, because stewardship concerns our relationship with God; it allows us the chance to let go of some of our earthly possessions and experience the joy that comes from trusting God. Physically, because your pledge helps pay for the expenses of our church and any additional outreach we give as community.
How much should I pledge?
We all have competing demands for our money. The most worthwhile and important of those demands usually involve some sacrifice, such as education and our homes. Are those things equivalent to the biblical tithe of 10%? Indeed, they may be much more. As we pray to God for guidance on this subject, therefore, a good place to start may be to compare the church and our spiritual life to those other things for which we make financial sacrifice and find the measure of our pledge there. With God’s help, it will be clear.
How do I pledge?
Fill out a pledge card (enclosed with this brochure) and either mail it back to the church or drop it in the offering plate on Sunday. Or hand it to an usher, or slip it under the office door. It will all get to the same place. If, for any reason, there is no pledge card in your envelope there are plenty on the tables in the back of the church. The ushers can hand them to you.
Do I need to bother with envelopes each Sunday? Don’t they cost the church a lot of money?
The pledge card makes clear that you can budget to remit your pledge annually or quarterly or weekly. If weekly, we encourage you to use the offering envelopes. It really helps with the bookkeeping. They are not expensive, and we’ve got boxes of them for 2010, anyway.
I can never be sure what to pledge so I just put money in the offering plate each Sunday. Isn’t that good enough?
It’s good, but, it could be better. The church cannot be as flexible about its expenses. We need to budget and to plan. So, think about what you might normally put in the plate - or what you have normally put in the plate over the years - and write it down in the form of a pledge. It makes it easy, too, when it comes time to vote at Annual Meeting and we can easily show that you are a pledging member of the church.
Why is it important that I be a pledging member of the church at Annual Meeting?
You must be a member of the Church of the Advent to vote at the Annual Meeting and, according to our by-laws, membership requires that you pledge to attend and make a financial contribution. Filling out and returning your pledge card records you as a member.
From the Rector:
Persons who are involved in various ministries and activities of the Advent are reminded that they are not only expected, but in fact required, to make a formal pledge of support to the Parish. That this commitment - a pledge - be the foundation for other commitments and activities is a rule of long-standing in the Parish and is necessary for its spiritual health and well-being. These ministries and offices include lectors, ushers, acolytes and servers at the Altar, clergy, assisting clergy, Vestry members, committee members, volunteers in the choir, Church School staff and teachers, etc. - Father Warren
When is my pledge due?
We would like to have all our pledges, if possible, by the First Sunday in Advent, November 29, which is the church’s Feast of Title and Dedication. That gives us time to incorporate your pledges into the budgeting process.
I prefer to pledge anonymously.
The amount you pledge will always be kept strictly confidential, with that information available only to the Treasurer and Parish Administrator, who must keep accounts, and the Stewardship Chairperson, who must raise the money. The clergy prefer not to know who gives what. The fact that you have pledged, however, is part of the open record of the church, on display at each Annual Meeting, and is useful additionally for measuring the growth of our church community, representing to the Diocese the degree of involvement of parish members, etc. We want you and all of us to be counted as faithful parishioners of the Church of the Advent.
How is the money used?
In a nutshell, pledge income pays for the active ministries of the parish, while the income from the Endowment pays to keep the lights on and the doors open. In other words, the $450,000 which we, the living members of the Parish, give, mostly through pledging, pay for the clergy, the music, the church school, the education and outreach programs, and the community supper and other alms programs. The $800,000 or so the parish takes as income from the Endowment pay for the largely fixed expenses that keep the place open whether there were anyone in the pews or not - our building’s very substantial need for ongoing repair and maintenance and heat and light, our Diocesan assessment, and our office and bookkeeping functions.
A Prayer of Self-Dedication
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.