At this Sunday’s parish forum, our Stewardship Team, which includes myself, and parishioners Rebecca Fellerman and Robin Dixon, will introduce a way that we can reflect on our call to stewardship throughout the year. Typically, the invitation to consider how to activate our time, talent, and treasure surfaces in the Fall, as we prepare to turn in our financial pledge cards on Stewardship Sunday in November. But that doesn’t do justice to all the ways that parishioners invest themselves in the life of St. Peter’s, both inside and outside its doors, and the ongoing discernment that requires.
As an introduction to our Stewardship conversation, it might be helpful to consider the language that we use to talk about giving in the Episcopal Church. This comes at the suggestion of Vestry member Chris Teleha, who pointed out that some parishioners come from different faith backgrounds and might use different language or approaches to giving, volunteering, committing, and donating.
In response, I’ve put together a brief Glossary of Giving to get us started.
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is the word we use to describe our care and commitment to the growth and development of something. When we steward the earth, for example, we take responsibility for her care and protection. In our faith language, stewardship refers to the way that we care for our parish community and tend to the needs of others, as well. That care commits us to be actively involved in the work and upkeep of the faith community, to bring our unique gifts to that work, and to support the work financially—so we can pay staff, keep up the buildings, make repairs, and offer programs. According to the Book of Common Prayer, p. 856, “Stewardship reflects our commitment to making God's love known through the realities of human life and our use of all that God has given us. It is also our service to God's world and our care of creation."
Stewardship is an ongoing act of generosity. The shorthand phrase that we often use for stewardship is the giving of our “time, talent, and treasure.”
A Vocabulary of Time and Talent
Membership. Membership at St. Peter’s takes a variety of forms. Informally, those who regularly attend worship and parish events over time can be described as members of our community. We welcome newcomers who want to make St. Peter’s their spiritual home with our Litany of Welcome on Come 4th Sunday.
Formal parish membership—the kind that qualifies you to vote for Vestry members, for example—includes recording your information with the parish, attending and participating regularly, and making regular financial contributions that reflect what you can afford and what you would like to invest in the support of the community you belong to.
Formal membership in the Episcopal Church happens with Baptism for those entering the church as an infant or as an unbaptized adult. Baptized Christians joining the Episcopal Church from another faith are either Confirmed (if they were not confirmed in another tradition) or are formally received, repeating their baptismal promises in a sacramental service led by the bishop.
But membership is more than an official status or a name in a book. My sense of membership in a group is shaped by the relationships I form with other members and the commitment to our common cause that draws us together. In a faith community, that’s where the time, talent, and treasure really come in. It’s lived out in the commitment of its members.
Discipleship. St. Peter’s is founded on a story—the story of how God gave us all the gift of eternal life and transformative love through God’s life, death, and resurrection as Jesus Christ. In turn, we believers tell that story every Sunday in our worship, and every day with our lives. That is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. St. Peter’s is one of the communities of love, prayer, worship, and relationship that grew out of that story. The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, calls our denomination “the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement.” As church members, the generosity, giving, and service that define our stewardship flow from our commitment to follow Jesus.
Ministry/minister. Ministries are the programs, outreaches, and actions that flow out of the life of the church and serve others—and they are almost entirely carried out by non-ordained, or lay, people. The most visible ministers are the ones we see on Sunday, assisting with the liturgy. They far outnumber the few ordained clergy among us. We wouldn’t be able to offer vibrant worship without the ushers and welcome team members helping people to find a seat and feel at home, the readers proclaiming the Word and leading prayers, the choir members sharing their music, the altar guild tending to our worship space, the acolytes and Eucharistic Ministers assisting at the altar, and our Godly Play teachers engaging our children on their own level for the first part of our church service.
But ministries and ministers extend beyond Sunday worship. Some parishioners bring Eucharist to those who are sick or can’t make it to church, while others assist in people’s physical or spiritual care. Others ensure that our fellowship hour is filled with good food and opportunities to learn about our faith. Many facilitate educational programs, run parish events or groups, or lead youth activities. Others stock the food cupboard or volunteer with outside organizations. Some are elected to lead the parish as Vestry members. Others tend the buildings and grounds, or the parish finances, or the tenant relationships. Others represent St. Peter’s by providing financial and hands-on support of organizations that serve vulnerable people or engage our community in issues of justice and social repair.
We have just a handful of staff members, as well as one priest and one deacon. The bulk of the work of our parish is done by everyone else, who invest their own time and talent in ministries that reflect their discipleship of Jesus and their love of this community. To learn more about what membership, ministry, and discipleship look like at St. Peter’s, visit our web page and click on the “get involved” link.
A Vocabulary of Treasure
Annual Giving. A variety of fund sources, from donations to rents to fundraisers, support our parish. More than half of our annual budget is supported by the ongoing giving of parishioners through cash or checks placed in the offertory plate each week, or regular contributions made online, or larger one-time contributions, such as those made through retirement accounts.
Bequests. Many parishioners have named St. Peter’s as a beneficiary in their wills. When this kind of giving is not earmarked for a special use, a portion supports St. Peter’s giving, overseen by our Community Partnerships Committee. If you would like to include St. Peter’s in your will, talk to your lawyer about adding this language to your legal documents.
Capital Campaign/Capital Fund. Occasionally we have a special fundraising campaign to help pay for a major expense, such as the recent purchase and installation of our new boiler system. The success of that campaign provided seed money for an ongoing capital improvement fund that people can support with regular contributions, in addition to other kinds of giving.
The Collection/Offertory. Our financial contributions are part of the offering that we make ritually during our Sunday liturgy, and they come right up to the altar along with the bread and wine that become our Eucharistic feast. The ushers pass the plate during the service, inviting us to make our own act of support and generosity as part of our worship. Any contributions that have a name attached—for example, a signed check or cash in an envelope with a person’s name—are placed in our general fund. Loose cash goes into a special account called the “discretionary fund,” which I use to help parishioners and community members in need.
Free-Will Offering/Donations. We sometimes encourage the support of parish activities or ministries directly by putting out a basket to collect a “free-will offering.” That’s money that you give at your discretion that helps pay for things like food and materials for fellowship hour, lunch club meals, or parish resources. These contributions can also be made online using the secure giving section of our website. The signs with QR codes that we put out at parish events and at fellowship hour take you to that website. Just put the ministry you are supporting in the comments section provided. Non-monetary donations are welcome in the form of food for our food cupboard or donations to our Rummage Sale.
Fundraising Events. About 12 percent of our yearly budget is supported by parish fundraisers, which invite both parishioners and community members to participate. Our twice-annual rummage sales, our Random Online Rummage Sales, as well as Trivia Night and the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, all help do this work. And they would not happen without the investment of volunteers’ time and talent, discussed above. Check the parish newsletter for information about the next rummage sale, as well as a concert with Charlie Zahm at St. Peter's on Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m.
Pledging. A pledge of financial support is an estimate of how much financial help a parishioner hopes to provide to St. Peter’s during the year, as well as a commitment to pay that over time. We invite parishioners to commit to an annual pledge each November on Ingathering Sunday, when we gather in the pledge cards on which people indicate their estimated contribution. Online pledging is also available on our website. A pledge can be made at any time, such as if you have joined the parish later in the year. It can be adjusted throughout the year if needed.
This approach to promised giving is often done in Protestant denominations like the Episcopal Church, and is often an important part of Jewish synagogue membership as well. It might be less familiar to Catholics who may have used collection envelopes to pace giving over time. On a practical level, pledging helps us to estimate our income flow when forming and monitoring the budget. It also provides a way for members to discern, pray about, and commit to a financial gift as a spiritual act. Pledging is not mandatory. Some parishioners choose to give what they can, as they can, and value keeping their plans for giving private. Both are completely valid forms of giving. Please know that however you give, we appreciate your generosity and know that it comes with discernment and love.
Tithing. Some faith traditions encourage members to give a set percentage of their income, or tithe, to support their church. The Biblical tithe of 10 percent of income is often a handy goal. That comes from interpretations of teachings in the Biblical books of Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy concerning the giving of agricultural goods and money to honor God or to support people such as Levitical priests or the poor. Such giving is a very personal choice. Some people use a tithe as a personal guideline to their giving, starting with a small percentage and working up to a particular percentage goal over time.
I’m sure that there are other terms and phrases that can be added to this Glossary of Giving. Please let me know if you have questions or would like explanations of other terms or practices that we can discuss in the future.
Rector's NOte-
When we gather for our Stewardship Forum this Sunday, we will explore the variety of ways that we give of our time, talent, and treasure all year round as followers of Jesus and members and lovers of his church. See you then!
ความคิดเห็น