That’s the mission we’ve given ourselves – ‘to grow as a Church in the spiritual strength of community, and to care, reach out, and include all people in Christ’s love”. These are just other words for providing spiritual shade.

‘Stewardship’ is the act of planting and nurturing seeds that we’ve been given so that we may continue to grow as a church and a community. It applies not only to us all as the collective body of St. Thomas’ but perhaps more importantly it applies to each of us individually. The stewardship campaign asks us all to consider our own spiritual commitment to giving of our time, talent and treasure. It is based on the belief that we give because we have first received. All that we have comes from God and giving back is one of the ways in which we can thank God for God’s many gifts.

A central part of stewardship is pledging. Pledging to St. Thomas gives us the chance to assess our own priorities in a planned and thoughtful way, rather than just giving what remains after we have paid our other expenses. This way we give intentionally rather than as an afterthought. This intentionality is what makes pledging fruitful in our lives.

Our pledge, to look at it another way, is our promise. It is our promise to share our gifts, to invest in God’s kingdom and experience the joy of sharing our gifts with others. Again, it is a promise. It’s not a payment of a bill, but a commitment of ourselves. It is our opportunity to offer ourselves to God and to give something of ourselves to this community.

Our church is like a tree. If we are to continue to grow and reach out, we must do from a position of strength. Like a tree, we need strong roots in order to grow long branches. Pledging to support St Thomas’ is the way that we nurture those roots. It gives us the financial foresight to plan not only for 2012 but for many years ahead.

As Charlie explains in his finance article, the vestry has approved a draft budget for 2012 that requires an increase of revenues by 3.5% over 2011.  This budget will allow us to expand our outreach efforts, continue to support our staff, and provide for the continued upkeep of our buildings. Most of the increase, in other words, is directed to our roots, allowing our branches to flourish. To support this budget, we’ll need to raise our pledge total from $365,000 in 2011 to $385,000 in 2012—just over a 5% increase.  We each need as to ask ourselves what we can do to help our church reach this goal. Please think about your pledge this year to St. Thomas’. How will you invest in the love and the joy that our community offers a hectic and fractured world?

On behalf of the Stewardship Committee 2012