Stewardship 2009

Dear St. Mark's Community,

 

These are exciting times at St. Mark’s.  Sunday services are full, parking spaces are less plentiful.  There is a hustle and bustle about the place, an energy we have not seen in a while.  We see new faces in our midst.  Familiar faces we have not seen for a while are back too, smiling.  Coffee hour is fun and there is a renewed seriousness about spiritual growth.  After much hard work, our church family is truly at a new beginning.

 

We are writing to ask you to support this new beginning with a financial pledge to the ministry of St. Mark’s Church.  We recognize that this letter arrives in the midst of challenging and uncertain times but, we believe, now more than ever, this church is needed in New Canaan.  Moreover, if we are able to get some perspective, we can see that we are all blessed with a great abundance.  Jesus talks often of money and of a theology of abundance and it is clear that God expects us to share what we have received.  We are writing to you about doing a Godly thing – sharing what you have received.  As King David said in the Temple, “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”

 

To strengthen and grow St. Mark’s new beginning, we on the Stewardship Committee need your help now.  Like it or not, if you are reading this letter, the future of our church is in your hands.  As you may know, to operate St. Mark’s effectively and on a sound financial basis, we need to increase pledging significantly.  We are thankful for increased average annual pledges over the last several years and we are hoping to continue this trend.  Many have found it helpful to know that our target budget is $1.2M.  Given the number of members we have, our average pledge will have to be $3,800.00 in order to fund the ministry.

 

We desire open communication.  To that end, there will be a Stewardship Town Hall meeting on Sunday, October 19 after the 10am service.  There will also be a series of Stewardship gatherings entitled “Wine and Cheese, Not Whine and Please”.  More information about times and places will follow.  Moreover, during the next few weeks you will be contacted by one of your fellow parishioners who is serving on the Stewardship Committee.  Please welcome this call and then give your pledge prayerful consideration.  A pledge should be part of every family’s regular budget and discussed as such.  Then, joyfully complete your pledge card and send it in as soon as you can.

 

Thank you and may God continue to bless us all.

 

Faithfully yours,

 

 

Patrick Donovan                                         Sara Smith

Co-Chair                                                     Co-Chair