Stewardship at Trinity: Growing in the Grace of God
My fellow Trinitarians, greetings. I write this note on the evening of Rally Sunday, our kick-off of the new “Christian Formation” year. The air has turned brisk; fall is right around the corner. And, as you’ve guessed, so is our stewardship every member canvas.
For those of you who want nothing but the facts, here’s the bare bones low down:
We will kick off the every member canvas on October 3rd. We will have the ingathering of pledge cards on November 7th. Final results will be announced at the Parish Meeting on November 14th.
For the pragmatists in the congregation, that should about cover it. You’ll receive your pledge cards on the Sunday, October 3rd. For those of you who don’t pick up your cards, we’ll drop them in the mail on Monday the 4th. We ask that you prayerfully consider your pledge and return the card to us as soon as you can. Certainly, we must have the completed cards no later than November 7th so we can include them with the ingathering of our parish gifts.
Here are a couple of other key bits of information about our every member canvas:
- Even if you do not plan to pledge a set amount, we ask that you return a completed card. This is an every member canvas; it can’t be every member unless every member returns a card.
- If we have your card by Sunday, October 17th, we will not be calling on you. For those parishioners who have not returned the card by the 17th, we will be calling by phone or arranging to visit in person. Please, don’t consider this a threat; it’s certainly not meant to be one. It is, however, meant to be an acknowledgement of the seriousness of our commitment to the every member canvas. We want to hear from everyone; sometimes, that means we need to reach out and not be so passive in our approach. For those of you who haven’t returned the card by the 17th, you can expect a call, a follow-up letter, or a visit. Of course, if you want a visit, you don’t need to wait until after the 17th. Just call the Parish Office and ask for a visit or call from the stewardship committee. We’ll be glad to chat with you.
- If you spend time surfing the internet, please slide on over here where I’ll be informally “blogging” about stewardship at Trinity.
- If you are interested in helping out with the stewardship effort this year (perhaps “blogging,” or calling on parishioners, or helping with the tallies, or making posters, or in whatever way you can), please get in touch with me. We will be meeting on Tuesday, 28 September at 7pm and we will be having a meeting on our kickoff Sunday – October 3rd – at 7pm in the Parish Hall. Everyone is invited to both of these meetings. Your assistance is desperately needed.
As you likely know, stewardship is the care we provide to those things – treasure, time, and talent – which has been entrusted to us. We each have been given many gifts, and returning some of that to the Glory of God so that His Church can do his work is but a small act. I know that while each of us has been presented with many challenges, we have also been presented with many gifts. I think back to the last year or two and think about all in my life: above all, I have been blessed. Those blessings – a new son and a growing family, completion of another graduate degree, the opportunity to serve my church and my country, the health and well being of my eldest sons, and other blessings too numerous to count – are given to me freely… but I acknowledge them and give thanks for them and am honored to give back.
And, certainly, I give thanks I am a part of this congregation, a part of this Parish family. I don’t know if we really know how blessed we are to be a part of this Parish. Certainly, we are all busy; certainly we all have responsibilities in our own lives; but, the love and acceptance I have experienced here has been invigorating.
I hope that you, too, are called to give back.
As you know, our pledge income provides the bulk of our operating expenses of the parish. Yes, we are blessed with an endowment, but the endowment is a supplement; the endowment is not meant to – nor does it – provide the funds for our daily operations. We are blessed with five full-time staff members – rector, Christian formation director, parish administrator, organist & choir director, and sexton; we are blessed with a beautiful, historical church and a wonderful Parish House complex; we are blessed with the energy to do good works in our church and in our community. And all of this takes money.
Not that these temporal issues should be the sole reason to pledge your treasures, I remind you of them so that as you consider your pledge for next year, you consider both the physical and spiritual issues involved in good stewardship.
If you have any questions about stewardship at Trinity, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. You can reach me through the Parish Office at 393-0431 or by
email.
~~ Peter Stinson
