Interviewed but not used

I mentioned that last week I was interviewed, by Steven Vegh of the Virginian Pilot, about stewardship. The article was published yesterday, and nothing from my interview was used at all! Perhaps I was just speaking "on background"?

Anyway, there was an interesting nugget in the story:

Sylvia Ronsvalle , a researcher at empty tomb , said church leaders are going up against a powerful trend: American consumerism.

“People are buying more things, carrying more debt,” she said. “People are finding money for things and cutting back in other areas, and the church may be one.”

Some boil down the explanation even further: that as Americans have generally become more prosperous in recent decades, they’ve become stingier at the offering plate.

Citing his experiences in ministry, Short said that affluent people often attribute their bounty to their own hard work, while poorer people credit providence and give more openhandedly.

“Affluence is a detriment to stewardship,” Short said.

Think about that: the affluent give a smaller percentage than people who are less affluent.

I really like the quote, "affluent people often attribute their bounty to their own hard work, while poorer people credit providence and give more openhandedly." So, affluent don't consider what they have as "God-given" perhaps?

Musing here: Does that mean that all the talk about stewardship falls on deaf ears in a place like Trinity, a place where -- admittedly -- we have a number of affluent parishoners?

Did I step over the edge?

So, were you at the annual meeting? Did I scare you off?

I stepped down from the lecturn, sat down, and thought I'd perhaps gone over the edge. Perhaps I need to make things clear; I'm not sure I was really understood. Let me try again.

Let's talk about what it means to be "formed" a Christian. That's right; we aren't born Christians. We make choices. And, we form ourselves as Christians, like a potter who forms a vase from a hunk of clay. What does it mean? What do we need to do? What actions do we take, like the potter wetting the hunk of clay and spinning the potter's wheel?

I suggest that stewardship is a key way we form ourselves as Christians. We define stewardship as taking care of, being responsible for, that which has been entrusted to us: our time, our talents, and our treasures.

And, I suggested, that one of the ways we use our time is through corporate worship. I'm not talking about coming to worship two or three times a year. A cynic would suggest this past Sunday there were members of the congregation who had darkened the doors last this past Easter... and Christmas before that. Actually, a cynic would say there were people who came for the meeting and didn't even bother coming to the worship service.

That, my friends, is not a good use of our time. We are asked to participate in the corporate life, the corporate worship, of our church on a regular basis (and by regular I mean weekly, or at least nearly so). And that's just the first stewardship of our time.

Anyway, an interesting thing about this is this: when we talk about forming ourselves as Christians, we're talking about Christian Formation.

More to follow.

Our status... here in mid-November

Well, here we are, the 10th day of November... and you are perhaps wondering what's up with the Pony Express.

A great question. For the most part, all the bags are in; I think one saddlebag is still making the rounds. Tomorrow, I'm sending a letter to all the households that missed the Express (and there were quite a few, I'm sad to report).

Dear Friends and Fellow Trinitarians,

You are perhaps wondering what happened to the Pony Express. Well, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is the Express ran it's course, and we have on hand pledges from 126 in the amount of just under $202,000.

The bad news is that some of our horses died.

I suspect one of the horses fell along the trail before reaching your household. As you know, the original Pony Express was a short-lived event, lasting not even two years (according to this web site the Express ran from April 1860 to October 1861). While we didn't have to travel 1966 miles, we did have quite a feat, attempting to reach every household of the Parish in just two weeks. We did okay, but, alas, and as you know, we weren't perfect.

Of course, I want you to have the opportunity to participate in the Every Member Canvass. Perhaps the Pony Express didn't make it, but the Every Member Canvass is still going to strong.

Please prayerfully consider your pledge to the Church and her work; please return the enclosed card to the Church office as soon as possible. Our in-gathering of pledge cards wimcarter@vaems.orgll be on Sunday, November 20th. We'd like to have all the pledges in and accounted for before the in-gathering so that the Finance Committee can finalize it's work on the 2006 budget.

If you have any questions about stewardship at Trinity, please get in touch with me.

Peace always,

Peter A. Stinson

P.S. Even if you are not pledging a specific amount for 2006, please return the card. This is an every-member-canvass, and unless we hear back from you, there's no way it can be “every member.” Thanks.

We had our monthly Vestry meeting tonight. Plenty of questions about the budget and the every-member-canvass. A couple of interesting bits.

While we will have a balanced budget for 2005, the next two months are going to be rough. Gene does a fantastic job at getting the numbers to both work out and make sense. However, we're going to end up short from the original budget of some $30,000 (at least that's what I think it is; I don't have my notes with me).

We are currently about $19,000 under in terms of pledge income after 10 months. That's very bad news. That means that there's $19k that was promised to the Church and likely isn't going to come in. I'd hope that people would maintain their pledge or, if circumstances have changed and they are unable to follow through, that people would notify the Church they'll be reducing/cancelling their pledge. At least then we know what to expect in terms of planning.

The nation-wide pledge average two years ago was about $1,700; we are currently under that. Under! I find it hard to believe that a parish like ours is under the national average. Sure we have folks who are on a limited fixed income and likely can't give all that much, but we have a huge slice of professional, working folks who can go well above the average.

It was suggested -- and I'm going to do it -- that we provide a pledge overview by segments. Not attaching names, but listing pledge amounts or categories (so many pledges at the $5-7k range; so many pledges at the less than $1,000 amount, etc.). I've been advocating we publish names and categories, just like secular non-profits (such as schools, colleges, theatres, arts groups, hospitals) do: At the ArchAngel level, Dr. & Mrs. David G. Boomlotz; at the Friends of Jesus level, Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Rogers, etc.

That idea has never gotten very far. A few laughs, but that's about it.

As someone tonight said, "We don't really talk about money here at Trinity."

Okay, for those that want the hard numbers, here's what Bill L. provided to me tonight:

Number of pledge cards sent: 211

Number of cards returned to date: 168 (almost 80% returned)

Number of cards indicating no pledge: 42 (I'm not sure about this number; I suspect some of these are people who didn't want to participate in the Express. I need to track this down.)

Pledge cards returned with pledge: 126

Total amount pledged by 106 existing pledgers: $179,913

Total amount pledged by 18 new pledgers: $19,034

Total amount pledged by all parishoners: $198,947

Pledge from trust fund: $3,000

Overall total pledged to date: $201,947

Number of households increasing pledge over 2005: 32 by $21,944

Number of households decreasing pledge from 2005: 29 by $19,428

Pledge amount from last every-member-canvas (for 2005): $216,000

This year's goal: $240,000

Still needed to reach our goal: $38,053

One last item. Last week I was interviewed by the religion reporter for the Virginian Pilot for an article he's writing about stewardship. He asked me two questions of note.

First, he mentionned that, as a percentage of income, pledges today (nationwide) are less than they were during the Depression. I didn't find that at all outside the realm of expectations. Actually, he started to tell me, and I finished his thought. We're more turned inward, I think, today; there's more stuff to buy and fill our homes with; and there's more opportunities to give to charitable causes (although, I'd suspect there's a reduction even when all charitable giving is taken into consideration).

Second, he asked if anyone uses pledges as a weapon or expects something in return. While I think some of the pledge reductions from current year amounts to next years' pledge have to do with changes in circumstances, some of them (perhaps most of them) are from people who are using their pledge -- and the pledge reduction -- as a way of communicating displeasure.

This may be harsh, but this is my response: get over it folks. There are only 4 people in the entire parish who know who pledges what... and the person you're attempting to send a message to isn't one of them... and neither am I. I know how much one person pledges -- that would be me. I'm at about 10% of my post-tax, post-insurance, post-child support income. Not where I'd like to be, but where I am. I have bumped it up a bit every year for the last couple of years, so it's getting closer, but it's still not there. An ideal world would find me giving 10% of my total (pre-all-that-stuff) income to charitable causes.

Okay, that's it for now. As always, if you have any comments or questions, send 'em my way. And feel free to use the comments feature on the blog, too.

First counts are in

Bill Lorkiewicz does a superb job of tallying the pledges. As you might know, only a few people -- the pledge secretaries -- know who pledges what amount at Trinity. As the stewardship chair, I know... diddly. That's right: I don't know squat. Not a thing.

Well, as to the specifics, that is. Bill does provide me with an overview of the progress of the every-member-canvass. Our first numbers are in; on Sunday, Bill gave me the count for a couple of the saddlebags. With 52 cards returned with pledges listed, our total pledged to date is $84,697. The not-so-good-news is that 9 people reduced their pledge from 2005 by a total of $7686.

I know that Bill will have updated numbers tomorrow night. We'll have to see how we're faring.

The horses have started to come in

Well, our two week express is over. I'd like to say all the bags are back, but, alas, all the bags aren't back. More on that later. In the mean time, I just want to remind everyone that we are having a stewardship committee meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, November 25th, in the Parish Hall. Everyone is invited; we're in need of many hands for the next phase of our every-member-canvas.

And, if you happen to have a saddlebag, you can bring it by the Church then.

Our pledge to the Diocese

Someone asked me a little bit ago how much the Parish gives to the Diocese to support the work of the Church in southern Virginia. At the time, I didn't have a number; now I do.

During 2005, we are on track to give the Diocese $30,000 out of our total budget of $447,508. That's about 6.7%.

Of note with our budget is that only about half of our total operating budget comes from current year pledges. While I don't want to say that we are living beyond our means, it is true that we are blessed with an endowment, and we are blessed that the endowment continues to grow and allow us to do things we would not otherwise be able to do. As I've told some people, we don't act like a church with only $223,000 in yearly pledges; we have programs for a church perhaps twice our size (in terms of pledges).

I guess the message is this: we ought to up our pledges so that we can pay our own way and use the endowment for non-operating costs.

And that is just my opinion... I've upped my pledge; now up yours.

;-)

The ponies are galloping about

At least I hope they are.

I'd forgotten that I wasn't going to be at services this past weekend; I had class for grad school all day Saturday and all day Sunday. I'd hoped to have a chance to put up some sort of race chart, but, alas, I failed. And, I didn't get a chance to see the saddlebag situation until today.

I dropped by the church office this morning; 4 bags have made the rounds completely and are ready to be tallied. Three bags were stopped and the associated horses need resuscitation. So, I guess it's time for me to give mouth-to-mouth to a couple of ponies and get these bags back on the trail.

All-in-all, I'm actually fairly pleased. We'll have some follow-up next week, but I think the bulk of the pledge cards will be in by this Sunday.

That's great news. By the middle of next week, we'll have the preliminary figures so the Finance Committee can start building the 2006 budget. This is the earliest in a long time we will have had a set of planning numbers.

Day Four of the Pony Express

el ladero solitario
Originally uploaded by txiribiton.

Well, like this rider, we are off on the Pony Express every-member-canvas.

I have to tell you that on Sunday, I was dead tired. I worked for hours putting the saddlebags together; I finally climbed in to bed at 3AM, only to roll out three hours later so I could get to the Church Office at 7 to put the final touches on things. Frankly, with all the sleep I've been missing of late (between watches for my recently ended recall to active duty and the baby and school work and real work and... well, you get the picture), I'm surprised I was able to form a complete thought on Sunday morning.

For those of you who missed Sunday, I gave a brief presentation during each service (right before The Peace) and we then commissioned our "trail bosses." Great turnout; we had 17 of the 19 folks involved in canvassing between the two services.

In my talk, I spoke about a couple of things. I reminded all of us of the definition of stewardship -- the care of that which has been entrusted to us -- and I also spoke about the concepts of tithing (a Biblical standard of 10%) and proportional giving (Trinity's expectation... that you know what proportion you give and that you work toward a tithe). And, I talked about the logistics of this year's every-member-canvas. The key point on that was move the bag along.

I know that some people in the Parish don't want to have anything to do with the saddlebag. Okay, sure, it's a bit more of a hassle than just completing a card and mailing it in, but it is also an activity to get each of us actively engaged in the canvass. It forces us to be proactive rather than just reactive and unengaged. So please, please play along. Show that you understand stewardship isn't just a "yearly fund drive," but is, rather, a way of life, a way that each of us manages and returns to God's work our time, our talents, and our treasures.

Peace.

Our horses may have been delayed, but now things are looking great

Great news: Our Pony Express is taking shape. We have our 15 Trail Bosses working for our three excellent Station Agents:

Station Agent: Carol Devine
Carol’s Devine Trail Bosses:

• Sarah Stone


• Jon Cobb


• John Kauffman


• Margaret Radford


• Nick Petsos

Station Agent: Frank Jemmison
Frank’s Fabulous Trail Bosses:

• Carol Mayo


• John Gasser


• Julia & Keir Ballinger


• Pam Oksman


• Dick Fox

Station Agent: Mary Caron
Mary’s Choir of Trail Bosses:

• Barbara Byers


• Bonnie Kroll


• Lance Rocks


• Cory and Patty Williams


• Allen Whitney

Here’s what will happen. On Sunday the Trail Bosses will be brought forward during the service, given a saddlebag, and commissioned for their “ride.” Each Trail Boss will complete their household’s pledge card, return it to the saddleback, and then pass the saddlebag to the next household on the list. They will then monitor the bag’s progress, assisting where necessary.

I’m hoping not too many Trail Bosses have to go out and rescue lost saddlebags...

Your role in this Pony Express every-member-canvass is to complete your pledge card, return it in a sealed envelope to the saddlebag, and then move the bag along the trail.

My thanks to our volunteers listed above. I know that some of the 20 folks listed above may been coerced, but without their help, we’d never be able to have a successful Pony Express.

Ride on!

Consider that which has been given to you

This is the article I submitted this morning to the parish office for inclusion in the October Trumpet.

Dear fellow Trinitarians,

We are so blessed. As I write this, the television is filled with images of Rita and Katrina's destruction; the newspapers headlines have been focused on the Gulf Coast for weeks; the internet is abuzz with analysis of what went right and what went wrong with our response to the hurricanes. And, today, Jenny and I found out that her grandmother's home and her father's home are under water in their little town of Erath along the coast.

We, here in Portsmouth and here at Trinity, have much to be thankful for. And, it is in the spirit of that thankfulness that I write to you today.

As you undoubtedly know, our Christian Formation time these past few weeks have been focusing on stewardship. That means, of course, that our parish's focus has returned once again to stewardship.


What is stewardship?

What is stewardship? Quite simply it is this: we have been given much; stewardship is our caring for that which we have.

We have all been given time and talents and treasures. Sure, you may think that some people have more treasure; and, perhaps you may think you've been shortchanged in the talents department. I'd say this: we've all been given much. The question is this: what are you doing with what you've been given?

I'd ask that you prayerfully consider that question: what are you doing with that which has been entrusted to you?


Time: A gift received equally

Each of us has been given the gift of time. We each have 168 hours a week to spend. How do you spend your 168 hours? Do you spend some of that time giving back to your fellow world citizens, doing the work of God in the world around you? Or, do you work and come home and veg out for the evening only to do it all over again the next day. It is so easy in today's busy world for each of us to look inward, focus on our work and our family, and do nothing of substance – in terms of taking care of God's work here on earth – with our time.

I certainly don't want to lay a guilt-trip down in front of you, spread before you like a throw rug in the entrance to your home, but I do want you to think about what you do with your time.


Talents: Each of us is given much

Directly related to this notion of how you spend your time is the notion of talents. Each of us has some things we do well. Each of us has God-given talents. I can sometimes string words together to form coherent sentences; I can help people who have experienced traumatic stress find relief and a way to own the event; I can sing loudly and off-key. There's a host of other talents I have too (I change a mean diaper). Now if I hold those talents in, or if I use those talents only for my own gain, I'm not being a good steward. If I hide those talents, I've done nothing more than throw a bushel over the flame.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
~~ Matthew 5:14-16 (New International Version)

I'm always struck when I learn about people & their talents... and how so often they hide those talents or only bring them out for certain people. Doesn't seem right, does it? To be a good steward is to actually use – to a good end – that to which has been entrusted.

Treasure: What we have isn't really ours

The last of the three realms of gifts we are stewards is treasure. Traditionally, we think of this as money or finances, and certainly that's a part of it. But it's more than that. It's everything in the physical world. Our parish has been entrusted with a beautiful, historical church building; it is, quite simply, a treasure. And we need to care for it; as stewards we must ensure the building stands for those who come after us.

On an individual level, all that we have is merely a gift from on high. Perhaps I think I have worked hard for what I have, but in actuality, it is a gift; what I have in this physical world, I am merely holding and caring for... and entrusted to use these things for good.


Our purpose with God's work

Now, here's the clincher. Earlier I asked that you prayerfully consider what you are doing with that which has been entrusted to you. I would suggest that all of us are here on this earth for some purpose; without this believe, I'd fall into the existential void, and likely you would, too. So, we have a purpose, whatever that may be. The gifts we have been given help us fulfill that purpose. Likewise, the Church is here for a purpose to. That existential purpose is a bit easier to fathom: to do God's work here on earth. Perhaps that is not the complete purpose, but it is certainly a large part of it.

We make up the Church. You and I and all of us, and it is we who do that work. We make it so the Church can do its work by providing it treasure and we do that work by contributing our time and talents.

Our work in the Church starts with our parish and our parish life. To prayerfully consider what you are doing with that which has been entrusted to you is to consider how much of it you are putting back into God's work.

Our upcoming every-member-canvass

Sadly, God's work cannot be done without financial resources. Yes, you knew it was coming to this point, didn't you.

It is the fall, so that must mean that we at Trinity Church are looking forward to the next fiscal year which means, of course, we are looking to see how much our parish members will pledge this year.

I almost didn't want to go there since many of us equate stewardship with the “annual pledge drive.” I wanted, truly to keep this discussion above that, for we are certainly not public radio or some other worthy secular institution; we are an institution of faith, of hope, of love.

We are not above needing financial resources, however. Elsewhere in this Trumpet, you'll read about our every-member canvass this fall. Before you turn to that article – and I suggest you do read it since you (yes, you) will have an important part in our every member canvass – please do prayerfully consider how you steward that which has been given to you in the form of time, talent, and, yes, treasure.

In conclusion: coming round full circle

And, as you consider that which you have, consider all that those along the Gulf Coast lost in September. Please pray for the recovery of all the people and communities along the coast that have found their lives turned upside down.

And, finally, please periodically visit our stewardship blog.

Peace to all.