Annual Giving/Pledging2011 Operating Fund Pledge Drive: A Letter from the St. Paul's Vestry
Dear People of St. Paul’s:
Last year at this time, we embarked on our Lighting the Way Every Member Canvass, which engaged all of our parishioners in a discussion about St. Paul’s and how we support the church in ministry and in stewardship. We also discussed our vision for St. Paul’s mission and how we could better seek to inspire and serve in God’s name.
Today we are seeing the fruits of our labor. Our two new worship services are thriving. Our ministries and our youth and adult education programs have been reinvigorated. We will begin a new partnership in the greater community with Head Start this school year, while within our own church community, our membership continues to grow. Our blessings are numerous, and we are doing the work God has given us to do.
But one part of our mission continues to challenge us.
Although our 2011 Annual Operating Fund pledge drive will be quieter than last year’s, it will be just as important. We must meet our fundamental financial obligations, but we also seek to fund the transformational ministries that we and our greater community need. In short, we must keep the lights on while shining as a light to the Glory of God through service to others. In order to do both, we must shore up our operating budget and increase our financial resources. This requires your financial support.
We ask each member household to make a pledge, however large or small, to the 2011 Operating Fund. We enclose a pledge card for this purpose, which we ask you to return by mail or in the offering plate by Pledge Sunday on October 24. To assist you in your prayerful consideration of what you will give next year, please avail yourself of the valuable information on our website about the Annual Budget, the biblical injunction to tithe, and proportional giving. The website also provides other ways to give, including matching gifts from your employer. You can even pledge on line in lieu of using the enclosed pledge card.
We also encourage you to take advantage of automatic withdrawl. Simply fill out the Electronic Payment Option form attached to the pledge card. Please fill this out if you are renewing automatic withdrawl, as well. We enclose additional information about the Electronic Payment Option in this letter.
We are a blessed congregation at St. Paul’s. It is our duty to be stewards of our church, to serve each other, and to minister to those in need. We can do these only with your promise of support.
St. Paul’s Vestry
Harry Baldwin Senior Warden
BJ Martino Junior Warden
CJ Reid Treasurer
Lisa Eskew Register
Tim Adams Wells Goddin
Steve Balistreri Corinne Marasco
Richard Bolton Bo Miller
John Elwood Jim Norman
Diana Forbes Joe Stanko
Laura Francis Joe Thomas
Talley Fulghum Peter Williams
Making an annual pledge:
Pledging is a vital part of your participation as a faithful member of St. Paul's Church. The easiest way to give to St. Paul's is to become involved with one of our specific ministries, and to make a financial pledge. Pledging is crucial in enabling St. Paul's to plan its ministries in advance and it provides a stable financial base for the support of our programs. Every fall during the Annual Operating Fund Campaign, members of St. Paul's are asked to make their pledges. Those joining Ultimately, your pledge is an affirmation of your relationship to God. It demonstrates your gratitude for all the blessings in your life, and your acceptance of the reality that all we have, all that we experience, are God's gifts to us. Proportional giving is any regular or intentional giving of a specific amount of money that is proportional to your means. The standard for giving at St. Paul's is the Biblical tithe of 10% of income. All parishioners are called to tithe or to be working toward a tithe. The amount of your pledge in relation to a tithe is a prayerful decision that only you can make. Please remember the concept of first fruits: a tithe -- or a percentage working toward a tithe -- becomes the first item in your budget. We ask you to think about your commitment to proportional giving with a small step. Promise to give two or three percent each year as a starting point. A proportional giving program is built one pledge at a time, one year at a time.
Changing your pledge during the year:
As a practical matter, your pledge enables parish leadership to budget for mission and ministry. However, in the upcoming year if you should find yourself in circumstances that alter your ability to fulfill your pledge or allow you to increase your pledge, it can be changed simply by notifying This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at 703-549-3312 x21. Understanding the importance of your pledge to the annual budget: Over 90% of our annual budget is financed by the members of St. Paul's. In 2010, 455 households out of 900 member households made a pledge -- consequently, half of the parish makes a commitment to giving regularly to St. Paul's. Our goal this year, as it is every year, is for every member household to make a financial commitment to St. Paul's for 2011.
The annual budget for 2010 was $1,479,232. In all, St. Paul's Operating Fund pays for parish programs and ministries, building operations and maintenance, personnel, parish outreach, and furtherance of our mission in the community and the larger church. And we have for many years now, we will support Virginia Theological Seminary, the Diocese of Renk in Sudan, and our own Lazarus Ministry.
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