Stewardship Campaign 2008

Dear Parish of St. Matthew,

What a blessing these past six weeks have been! Our family has been warmly welcomed and we feel that we are riding a wave of energy and excitement. There has been so much to celebrate and it is exciting to be engaged in planning and building our future together.

I am writing today to begin an important conversation about Stewardship. As we celebrate and count our blessings it is also important to evaluate our financial support of St. Matthew’s. Contributing to the financial health of our community is an important expression of our faith. A healthy parish is characterized by broad support from the entire membership.

In examining the financial health of our parish it has become clear to me that we face some significant financial challenges. Unfortunately, it is usually the case that during periods of conflict and uncertainty Stewardship suffers. While St. Matthew’s is not without financial resources, our annual budget has been under funded. For the past ten years the church has relied upon Endowment funds to support pledging shortfalls. In a healthy parish, annual pledging provides for the majority of the budget without depleting Endowment resources.

Our journey forward involves two important steps. First, it is important for our community to understand our current financial position. To that end we have scheduled The first presentations will be made after both Sunday services on October 14th. Second, it is important to adapt a process of financial stewardship for each household that will ensure the financial health of the parish. To that end I propose our adoption of Proportional Giving as a means to steadily improve our stewardship giving. A letter outlining the main points of Proportional Giving is included with this mailing.

I firmly believe that we have the dedication, talent, and resources to put our parish back upon sound financial footing. We did not arrive in our current financial position overnight. We do not have to panic—but I do believe that it will take at least five years of everyone pulling together to right and steady our financial ship. I hope that you will be able to attend one of the parish financial updates, and I look forward to your prayerful participation in this year’s stewardship campaign.

Faithfully,

Fr. Eric+

Stewardship and Proportional Giving

Stewardship involves our response to God’s blessings and is an important aspect of our faith. We are each stewards of a portion of God’s creation and financial stewardship involves giving back a portion of our wealth to provide for God’s work in the world. From ancient times, we have the notion of giving the first fruits of our labor - the first and best portion - to God.

Proportional Giving is a means for wrestling with the question “How much of my wealth should I contribute for the mission and ministry of the church in my annual pledge?” The traditional measure of giving to the Church is the tithe - a tenth of one’s income. In ancient times the tithe was a significant commitment and it remains so today. The tithe is a measure of one’s commitment to support the work of the Gospel in the world. One’s giving is a tangible expression of one’s faith. Few people can casually give away a tenth of their income, and most of us fall short of the standard of the tithe.

Proportional Giving recognizes that stewardship is a journey and that the tithe is a level to work towards. It provides a means for individuals and the entire congregation to steadily strengthen their giving in stewardship. Proportional Giving asks that we consider giving to the Church in proportion to our income. It begins with our current level of giving, and asks that we consider raising our pledge by one half a percent of our income each year.

For example, if one’s current level of giving is a yearly pledge of $2,000 based upon an income of $100,000; then one is giving 2% of their yearly income to the parish. Proportional Giving asks that one increase their giving by ½ % of one’s income. The household in this example would increase the percent given from 2% to 2 ½%, which yields a pledge of $2,500. The advantage of Proportional Giving is that every household is challenged to increase their giving in a way that is balanced and equitable. In Proportional Giving, stewardship is spread out over the entire wealth of the parish. Proportional Giving provides a method to steadily work towards the goal of tithing and to ensure the continued vitality of the Church.

Moving forward, our Vestry has already committed to Proportional Giving as an important means towards assuring the future health of Saint Matthew’s. Restoring our parish to financial health will be an important aspect of our journey together. I look forward to your Participation.

With thanks and blessings,

Fr. Eric+