October 11, 2011

 

Dear Parishioners:

Fall is a time of new beginnings. Summer vacations are over, and the start of the new church program year brings a sense of excitement and optimism, a chance to try something new. 

We at St. David’s are fortunate to have much to fuel our sense of optimism.  Our choir, led by talented new Music Director Abel Searor, has returned from summer break to augment our worship with magnificent music.  The church school is back in session with a growing number of young children, and our youth are becoming more visibly involved in worship on Sunday in a variety of roles.   Commission meetings are resuming with a renewed sense of purpose and mission, and fellowship and spiritual formation activities are back on the calendar for the fall.  And most significantly, we have called and welcomed a new rector, Rev. Jacqueline Schmidt, to help us live into the goals we have set for ourselves as a parish.

But let us do more than reflect on all that we have to look forward to and be thankful for.  Let us become a “font of gratitude” by actively acknowledging how St. David’s has been a blessing in our lives and the lives of others.  The Stewardship Commission invites you to send forth your thanks -- beginning by using the enclosed postcard – to St. David’s as a parish, to a specific person or group, to anyone you wish.  Our goal over the course of the fall is for St. David’s parishioners to send out 1,000 thank you’s as a way to live out our faith and become a font of gratitude in the world.  Additional postcards will be available at church for you to help us meet our goal.

The responsibility we all share for the ministries of St. David’s is both a blessing and a challenge.  We are blessed with an extraordinarily rich spiritual life that is marked by generosity, caring and enthusiasm.  But we are also challenged to generate the resources we need to overcome years of deficit budgets and to keep supporting the goals that define us as a parish.  In the current year, our operating deficit is projected to be over $40,000, and we know that we cannot allow this situation to continue.

Enclosed you will find a narrative budget for 2012, which describes how your contributions go to support our parish goals.  A proportional giving chart is also included to help guide your pledge decision.  We are deeply grateful for whatever support you can provide to the church – every pledge, no matter how large or small, makes a difference. 

If you’ve never pledged before, we hope this year you might consider formalizing your commitment to the church, to help sustain and advance our important mission and ministries.  It you’ve pledged in the past, thank you.  This year, we hope you will prayerfully consider increasing your pledge according to your ability.  As the Lift Up Our Sacred Space capital campaign draws to a close at the end of this year, could you augment your annual stewardship commitment with resources that were previously committed to the capital campaign?

Again this year, there are two options to make a formal pledge.  One is to pledge confidentially online at http://stdavidscny.org/onlinePledge.htm.  The other is with the pledge card that is included with this letter, and which may be brought to worship on our Ingathering Sunday, November 6th.  If you are unable to be at worship that day, your pledge may be mailed to the church. 

Our ingathering of pledges on November 6th (All Saints Day) will be followed by a celebratory brunch in the parish hall following the late service.  The brunch is a gift to the parish in thanksgiving for our offerings of time, talent, and treasure, with a special emphasis this year on celebrating the achievements of the Lift Up Our Sacred Space capital campaign.

Thank you for all that you do to hold up generosity as a gift of the Spirit, and for expressing thanks to God and one another now and throughout the year.  If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 315-412-5011 or kateskahen@gmail.com.

Gratefully,

Kate Skahen
Stewardship Commission Chair