The path to parish financial self-sufficiency is clear. If average pledging can be boosted by 15 percent per year over this year and the next, then St. Thomas' will be freed from dependence on the insurance settlement to fund parish operations. We're calling this program "Stewardship 2010" because our goal is to make that financial independence a reality by January 2010.

An increase of 15 percent per year will provide enough new income to allow for inflationary increases and operations budget developments while also moving us towards our goal of self-reliance. This isn’t a strategy that depends on a few large pledges or “winning the lottery.” It simply requires that everyone at St. Thomas’ makes a financial pledge to the Parish’s life and mission, and then that we pledge to grow our giving by 15 percent each year. As a Parish family, we need to be responsible stewards together; we are One Body, whose health depends on all of the parts. Part of our Parish health is financial, and our financial health depends on the level of generosity of your giving to support our life and mission.

The average annual pledge in this parish is about $2,400 – which would mean that if we’re all tithing, we’re all living just above the U.S. poverty level for a family of four! Stewardship, however, isn’t about making us feel guilty about what we don’t give. It’s about helping us to be mindful of what we do give. In our Parish budget, the dollar amount of course is important; but when we do our personal spiritual budget, what really matters is honest proportional giving. If you can give 10% of all that you have been given, then give. But if you’re giving 2% or 3% of your income, consider simply growing that gift from year to year. How much is up to you and God.

The Stewardship Committee will be taking several steps to help make Stewardship 2010 a reality. Our first step has been to assign every parishioner a stewardship mentor. Your mentor, either a committee member or vestry person, will be contacting you this fall to talk about your connection with St. Thomas’ and asking for your help in meeting our Stewardship 2010 goal. In addition you will be seeing regular essays from parishioners who will be describing their journeys of stewardship in a series entitled “Why I Give.”

We hope to conclude this year’s campaign the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We’re aiming to have all our pledges in hand by that date to give the Vestry ample time to prepare a budget for 2008, which the Vestry does in late November and December.

Please think and pray about Stewardship 2010. Don’t hesitate to contact any member of the Stewardship Committee (Byron Smalley and Kurt Jacobs, co-chairs, John Carter, Knight Champion, Mary Hager) or the Vestry. Any of us would be happy to talk with you further.