Stewardship 2022
This year we started discussing how Stewardship is about more than money. It’s about giving our time, talent and treasure to take care of the world that God has created for us. As God’s people we are his stewards of creation. Consider Stewardship as giving back to God that which God has already given to us.
So far, we have focused on Faith and Giving as aspects of Stewardship. At the end of the year, we need to talk about pledges and supporting our St. Paul’s community financially.
St. Paul’s receives no financial support from the Diocese. Our Rector, staff and programming would not be possible without contributions from you. A pledge is a recognition of the impact that St. Paul’s has in your life and in our community. No matter the size every pledge is important because it represents your belief in the mission of our church.
This year we need to consider some changes that will impact our budget in 2022.
Outreach
Historically, outreach was a part of our St. Paul’s annual budget, but years back we decided to support outreach through fundraising events. This year, due to a surplus funds because of substantially overall lower expenses in 2020, we were able to re-introduce an small amount of money into our operating budget, motivated by the realization that fundraising events were hindered by the pandemic. That said, the vestry and Becky feel strongly that outreach needs to be central to our budgeting, regardless of other circumstances, making sure that the needs of God's people are met with our "first fruits". In 2022, we would like to fund outreach even more fully from our annual budget, which we can make a reality only with your increased pledges and broad participation from all parishioners.
Staffing
During the pandemic we have been able to manage with a reduced staff but as in-person church and programming become a regular part of our lives together we will need to add more staff. For example, in order to invite the wider community back into our buildings we will need to hire office staff to be on site and custodial staff to be present daily. We also need to restart our music ministry, have the church cleaned weekly and hire consultants to help increase our technology and organizational capacity.
Building Maintenance
We need to look at making our buildings more sustainable (for us and for the environment) and completing long-overdue repairs. For example, both Tower roofs (the one over the balcony- under the bell, and the one over the bell) need work to stop water coming into the balcony, narthex, and undercroft. Our Sherrill Hall roof and Church roof are also nearing the ends of their lives. We will be doing roof repairs until we decide on a master plan which will hopefully off-set the electric bills by including solar shingles or panels.
Please consider these needs as you discern your pledge for 2022. You can complete your pledge using the following link:
As we celebrate our 150th Anniversary we would also like to ask: What are your hopes and dreams for the next 150 years of St. Paul’s?
Thank you for your ongoing Stewardship of St. Paul’s and our community.
