“Let us with gladness present the offerings and oblations of our life and labor to the Lord”
- The Book of Common Prayer
People sometimes feel conflicted when it comes to money and the Church. On the one hand, our culture sends powerful messages that beckon us to worship money and wealth. On the other hand, many hold the notion that money is the root of all evil. Some even feel discussions about money are out of place in the church.
A healthy theology of giving understands that money is a neutral medium of exchange that can be and is used in a variety of ways. Christians are called to a life of stewardship of our time, talents and treasure as we intentionally make choices that reflect our primary values. Our values are rooted in our relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
We understand life and the resources to thrive as God’s gifts, and seek to make our faith in God tangible by giving joyfully to the mission and ministry of God in the world. The prayerful giving of time, talent and treasure toward the mission of Body of Christ is a deliberate choice that necessarily impacts our lives.
Annual Giving
Each fall the parish conducts a pledge drive through which we urge all members to make a financial as well as time commitment – a pledge – to the mission and ministry of the parish for the coming year. Each year’s Statement of Mission (operating budget) is developed based on anticipated pledge income.
On one level, pledging is an important help to the parish leaders; they can plan well for the coming year when they have accurate income information. But on a deeper level, pledging is a spiritual discipline for each of us, because it represents a real commitment of faith: a clear, tangible step toward making stewardship a deliberate act.