Rector's Note: Stewarding Gratitude - 11.20.25

As we near our national holiday for giving thanks, it’s worth counting a few St. Peter’s blessings for which we can all be grateful. Our parish’s generous commitment to stewardship of our ministry together is at the top of my gratitude list this year.

This fall’s Stewardship Pledge campaign, which culminated with In-gathering Sunday on Nov. 16, has been a source of deep thanks in response to generous giving.  By last Sunday, 50 people had pledged $136,000 toward our 2026 budget. That’s an increase of $5000 from this time last year.  And pledges are still coming in electronically and in the mail.  Stop by the Stewardship bulletin board on the way to the parish hall to see our progress week to week. Our pledge goal is to exceed last year’s total of 65 pledges of $169,000.

At the same time, while pledging is an indication of what people plan to give, many give generously without turning in a card, which is a completely appropriate and appreciated way of supporting our parish finances. By the end of 2026, we will likely discover that overall weekly giving exceeded pledging, as it does each year.

This year the pledge campaign went out of its way to elevate the importance of sharing time and talent in addition to financial contributions. I am so thankful to all who worked to make this campaign unique and fun in this way. Our Year-Round Stewardship Team, Rebecca Fellerman, Robin Dixon, and Julia Guerrero, started envisioning this year’s pledge drive with Charlese Freeman-Benoit and myself last summer.  They came up with stewardship meals, an interactive ministry tree, weekly reflections on the Scriptures and speakers who talked about their offerings of time and talent through ministry.

Parishioners Marsha Blake and George Luskus, Audrey and Dave Kipput, Sal and Julia Guerrero, Robin and Ernie Dixon, Maureen Schaeffer, John and Melissa Olson and Mark and Donna Evans all answered my invitation to host parishioners for potluck meals and conversation this fall. Participants reported that the gatherings were a wonderful way to get to know people better and steward the relationships that are so important to our parish life together.  The Year-Round Stewardship team is already talking about offering the experience again at another time so more people can be involved.

Thanks also go to our Sunday speakers who talked so eloquently about their investment in parish ministry during the pledge campaign. Organized by People’s Warden Audrey Kipphut, they included Suzanne Teleha speaking on parish fellowship, Karen Sayer sharing her experience on Altar Guild, Shirley Smith describing her long work with our outreach ministries, and Kristina Marchuk discussing her love of music expressed in the choir and folk group.  Their call for us to join them in these important ministries highlighted the ways the loving and committed offering of time truly holds our parish together. Look for more of this sharing throughout the rest of the year as well.

The Stewardship Pledge Campaign offers a high-energy way to express our gratitude for our parish community. But we are no longer stopping with the counting of pledges in December. In the New Year we will continue to “Tell Out Our Souls”  through ministry, service, community care and conversation. Look for our Stewardship tree to change with the seasons, inviting a variety of ways to share our gifts with one another.  And meanwhile, I hope you will savor with me the gratitude that rises from just gathering week to week as people of faith to do the work that God has given us to do.

Happy Thanksgiving