new beginnings and stewardship
October 13, 2019
Good morning. I am pleased to address you today on the subject of our 2020 Stewardship campaign entitled New Beginnings. As our Senior Warden Don MacGowan has aptly advised, some amazing milestones have occurred at St Peters. We call these blessings. You have been listening to the provoking sermons of Rev. Bob Morris, and the intellectual teachings of Pastor Lynne Grifo. You have seen the gifts of nature in our beautiful hillside location, now blessed with our own rain garden. You have been witness to an amazing search committee, participated in one of our largest or most successful parish surveys, and celebrated with us in the calling of Rev. Michael Muller. With your prayers and tithing support, we organized a fun filled, Action Auction that will make Outreach, and our Diocese Pledge contributions back on solid ground.
Perhaps most important to our theme of New Beginnings, you increased your pledges at a critical time that enabled us to call a full-time rector, and one with a kind and generous family. This coming week, you will receive your pledge packets describing the parish revenues, use of funds and pledges. We used simple pie charts and ring diagrams to show you sources and uses of funds.
The Vestry and supporting Finance and Endowment Committees were very responsible with your pledges, and with their guidance, we should end the year with a positive net income. Let me describe a few highlights. We ended the 2018 year with a 2019 pledge goal of $185,000 and exceeded that to reach $193,525. Thank you…and thank you again.
In 2019, we received just 67 pledges at an average of $2,888, yet every pledge makes a difference and this is your true take-away. Approximately 46 pledges were under the average, and 21 pledges were over the average.
So it is upon us now as we begin the 2020 pledge campaign to reflect on the what, why and how of New Beginnings.
First the What of New Beginnings: This is as much about calling a new Rector, as it is listening to your voices express how God is calling you to rebuild your hope and faith in the role of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in your lives, your family’s lives, the Community of Mountain Lakes, and beyond. New Beginnings is also about embracing change. This is change that you helped support, and that you have helped to create. In our society, we need to see this change as “something wildly bigger than each and all of us,” according to the Embracing Change writings of The Very Rev. James A. Kowalski, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. He says, “Try remembering Margaret Meads promise: “Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world,” a world that Jesus came to give life abundant.
Second, the Why of New Beginnings:
Rather than looking back at the past, we have the excitement of the future. We are welcoming a new Rector, a learned and spiritually passionate Rev. Michael Muller and his family. And with that we have prayerfully decided that full-time is best-time, and that we are ready to give and grow spiritually from within these walls and outside to the greater community. Church development leader Charles Schwartz calls spiritual passion among members “the point separating growing and non-growing churches.”
We believe that Rev. Michael Muller is that new leader for St. Peter’s to bring forth that spiritual passion.
Third, the How of New Beginnings
We know for sure that Rev. Muller will be excited to begin a new Priesthood at St Peter’s. How will he and the Vestry lead the Church ahead? How will he balance the needs of the young and old, the healthy and infirm, the loyal, the once loyal and the “almost lost”? How will he grow the spiritual passion, create excitement for our and the Diocese’s new initiatives?
With prayer, dedicated work, spiritual leadership, and a strong stewardship campaign, together we will build faith in our future.
We have set our stewardship goal for 2020 at $200,000, about 4% above last year’s total pledges. That means that if everyone increases their pledges by 5%, we will meet our goal. Even better, we aspire to reach out to those who have not pledged and seek their prayerful consideration.
In your pledge packets, you will see a diagram of how the Vestry forecasts the use of those funds next year. We welcome your prayers, thoughts, questions and generous pledges.
Thank you very much. I look forward to joining you in our New Beginnings.
Faithfully submitted,
Kevin S. Edwards
Good morning. I am pleased to address you today on the subject of our 2020 Stewardship campaign entitled New Beginnings. As our Senior Warden Don MacGowan has aptly advised, some amazing milestones have occurred at St Peters. We call these blessings. You have been listening to the provoking sermons of Rev. Bob Morris, and the intellectual teachings of Pastor Lynne Grifo. You have seen the gifts of nature in our beautiful hillside location, now blessed with our own rain garden. You have been witness to an amazing search committee, participated in one of our largest or most successful parish surveys, and celebrated with us in the calling of Rev. Michael Muller. With your prayers and tithing support, we organized a fun filled, Action Auction that will make Outreach, and our Diocese Pledge contributions back on solid ground.
Perhaps most important to our theme of New Beginnings, you increased your pledges at a critical time that enabled us to call a full-time rector, and one with a kind and generous family. This coming week, you will receive your pledge packets describing the parish revenues, use of funds and pledges. We used simple pie charts and ring diagrams to show you sources and uses of funds.
The Vestry and supporting Finance and Endowment Committees were very responsible with your pledges, and with their guidance, we should end the year with a positive net income. Let me describe a few highlights. We ended the 2018 year with a 2019 pledge goal of $185,000 and exceeded that to reach $193,525. Thank you…and thank you again.
In 2019, we received just 67 pledges at an average of $2,888, yet every pledge makes a difference and this is your true take-away. Approximately 46 pledges were under the average, and 21 pledges were over the average.
So it is upon us now as we begin the 2020 pledge campaign to reflect on the what, why and how of New Beginnings.
First the What of New Beginnings: This is as much about calling a new Rector, as it is listening to your voices express how God is calling you to rebuild your hope and faith in the role of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in your lives, your family’s lives, the Community of Mountain Lakes, and beyond. New Beginnings is also about embracing change. This is change that you helped support, and that you have helped to create. In our society, we need to see this change as “something wildly bigger than each and all of us,” according to the Embracing Change writings of The Very Rev. James A. Kowalski, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. He says, “Try remembering Margaret Meads promise: “Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world,” a world that Jesus came to give life abundant.
Second, the Why of New Beginnings:
Rather than looking back at the past, we have the excitement of the future. We are welcoming a new Rector, a learned and spiritually passionate Rev. Michael Muller and his family. And with that we have prayerfully decided that full-time is best-time, and that we are ready to give and grow spiritually from within these walls and outside to the greater community. Church development leader Charles Schwartz calls spiritual passion among members “the point separating growing and non-growing churches.”
We believe that Rev. Michael Muller is that new leader for St. Peter’s to bring forth that spiritual passion.
Third, the How of New Beginnings
We know for sure that Rev. Muller will be excited to begin a new Priesthood at St Peter’s. How will he and the Vestry lead the Church ahead? How will he balance the needs of the young and old, the healthy and infirm, the loyal, the once loyal and the “almost lost”? How will he grow the spiritual passion, create excitement for our and the Diocese’s new initiatives?
With prayer, dedicated work, spiritual leadership, and a strong stewardship campaign, together we will build faith in our future.
We have set our stewardship goal for 2020 at $200,000, about 4% above last year’s total pledges. That means that if everyone increases their pledges by 5%, we will meet our goal. Even better, we aspire to reach out to those who have not pledged and seek their prayerful consideration.
In your pledge packets, you will see a diagram of how the Vestry forecasts the use of those funds next year. We welcome your prayers, thoughts, questions and generous pledges.
Thank you very much. I look forward to joining you in our New Beginnings.
Faithfully submitted,
Kevin S. Edwards