During this time of year there are many items on the church calendar, as you can read in the Sunday bulletin and in this current Newsletter. However, I find that the most significant item is Pledge Sunday on November 6th.
This may be a time of reflection for some, a time to re-evaluate their financial priorities. Yet, sometimes it can be a time of concern. Concerns on whether you will have enough to increase your pledge or to even give at all. These are valid issues and ones that should be addressed; the Vestry addressed these concerns at their last meeting.
It was a delicate balance between realizing the current economy and striving to show promise and growth in the church. After much contemplation, the Vestry did decide to increase the pledge goal from last year. The Vestry discerned that if they were going to ask you to consider increasing your pledge or become a new pledger, then they would have to take the lead. The Vestry realizes that the economy is in turmoil and none of us know what next year will bring, however, we do know that our pledges are what is needed to have St. Stephen’s maintain what it does best, inside and outside these walls.
Over the past two years, I have had the great opportunity to interview the families that have been highlighted on our Pledge Inserts. Last year we heard from Howie & Dolores Jackson and the Whitcomb family. This year we will have the pleasure of hearing the story of Marilyn & Rick Cloran and Keyana Brown’s family.
It has been a gift to me, to be able to sit down with folks and speak with them one on one. They all spoke of why they continue to pledge to St. Stephen’s, how they arrived here and why they continue to come.
When you read their stories, they are ones that represent the community we have here at St. Stephen’s. There is a common thread through all of them: St. Stephen’s continues to be a place of welcoming and informing people; who care about their church, but know their responsibility to their community.
If you regularly place money in the Offering on Sundays, then during this pledge season I ask you to consider pledging. If you are a pledger, I ask you to consider increasing your pledge. As I ask you, I will also be asking our family how we can increase our pledge this year and look at how we spend our money.
Peace and love always,
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