Stewardship @ St. George's

Stewardship

Together We Grow

"All that we are and all that we have has come from God, and still belongs to God and is to be used for God's glory."
-from a parish stewardship letter

All members of the St. George's community are asked to contribute financially, as best as they are able, to the work of the parish. Below are some frequently asked questions about pledging...

What is a pledge? - As a form of Christian stewardship, a pledge is an undertaking to contribute a specific amount to the support of St. George's parish and its ministries for the coming year. Your pledge can be fulfilled in weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual payments. Pledges can be paid by check for accurate recording, and you can use the weekly pledge envelopes provided to each pledger at the beginning of the year. Pledge contributions can be placed in the collection plate on Sundays or mailed to the parish office. Although all contributions to St. George's are welcome, in any form and at any time, making a pledge implies a commitment to the ongoing life of the parish.

How much should I pledge? - That is a matter between you and God. Theologically, we believe that everything we have is a gift from God, and that our task as baptized people is to "keep the gift moving" - to share what we have so that more can be given. "All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee."

Isn't so much focus on money unchristian? - That depends on how you define focus. If focus means a preoccupation with money for its own sake, then it is indeed unchristian. As Jesus said, you cannot worship both God and money. But it is striking how often Jesus used stories about money in a positive way to talk about the nature of Christian love. In the New Testament writings, money is sacramental. The way we use our money - whether we hoard it or take risks with it; whether we focus on it for its own sake or see it as a means to further God's love in the world - speaks volumes about how we regard our lives, and our relationship to the God who is the source of all we have, not just our money.

How much does the average pledger at St. George's contribute each year? - The median pledge at St. George's, is between $900-$1100 per year. That means that half of our pledging households pledge at or above the $900-$1100 level, sometimes well above. We would rather not talk about specific "average" pledges, because an average pledge of, say $600 a year would be impossible to achieve for some people with lower incomes, and would provide no challenge at all to someone whose income is relatively high.

What is proportional giving? - Rather than choose a fixed sum to pledge every year, one prayerfully and realistically determines what proportion of income to set aside for ministry, and then pledges accordingly. The proportion will vary from person to person, and over time. Some may start at 1%, others at 3% or 4%, others may seek over several years to approach the Biblical standard of 10%. We give back in gratitude to God a fair proportion of the gifts we have been given.

Do I have to pledge to be a member of St. George's? - No, anyone who walks through our doors and worships with us regularly is considered a member. We hope all who consider themselves members will make a pledge.

Who knows how much I pledge? Does the rector know? - At St. George's, your pledge is confidential. Only the treasurer and his assistant bookkeeper know how much anyone pledges, and that is only so a record of your pledge history can be sent to you at year's end for tax purposes. The information is available to no one else. The rector does not know what you pledge, only whether you pledge. The confidentiality of our pledges is crucial to our life together.

Does the rector pledge? - Clergy households pledge just like every other household in a parish.

Why doesn't the Diocese of New Hampshire contribute to our parish budget? - In the Episcopal church, all independent parishes (that is, parishes who elect rectors) must be self-supporting. The diocese assesses parishes an amount of money each year proportional to their operating revenues, in part to support the work of parishes that are not self-supporting. From those who have been given much, much is demanded. This mutual interdependence and accountability under the leaderhip of the Bishop is a hallmark of our Episcopal heritage.

Does St. George's have an endowment? Why does it need our pledges? - No, our parish does not have an endowment. It is our pledges that support the ministries that we ourselves are called to carry out, here and now. To be good stewards we must contribute to the parish ourselves. Strong pledging marks an important difference between a parish that is moribund and one that is alive and growing in the ministry of Christ in the world.

St. George's Episcopal Church, One Park Court at 16 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824
Telephone: 603.868.2785 FAX: 603.868.6654
Email: officestg@earthlink.net