Stewardship 2027
Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed. Nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you. —Luke 17:20a-21
As Christ reminds us, if we want to attend to the needs of the world, we also need to look within and among ourselves—to our strengths and weaknesses, our joys and our needs—that we might then know how to serve God and neighbor more joyfully and faithfully. This Stewardship season we will be “looking in, and working out.” We will join together to look inward—to our campus, our community, and within ourselves—to consider how we can best serve and build up our parish. Then, having discerned where we are now, we will be in a better position to work outward, where we can respond to the needs of the wider world more fruitfully, and help grow God’s kingdom.
Every Sunday, we gather for worship and listen to our talented choir, greet our friends at the peace, and watch the enthusiastic return of our youngest parishioners from church school. St. John’s is known for its incredible coffee hour and robust youth programming, for our innovative outreach activities and unique community events. Year round, our parish is humming with activity, both within and beyond its walls, supported by our two priests, a choir director, Sunday School director, sexton, accountant, and church administrator, as well as our many generous volunteer parishioners. We are entrusted to care for this cherished parish of St. John’s and, in doing so, allow for St. John’s to provide services to the broader community. As we consider how to responsibly steward our parish into 2027 and beyond, we ask you to invest in St John’s this year.
As we look to 2027, our financial needs will grow; we will be responsible for the entirety of the salary for a second priest and must bear the rising utility and upkeep costs. This is one of those years where we must now ask the parish to increase the financial contributions you are making to St. John’s. If we have no change in the number of pledging families, the average pledge for 2027 would need to increase by 10%. We recognize that not everyone will be in a position to increase their pledge, which means that to meet our budget, many will increase their pledges by even more.
Let us be faithful stewards of all that God has given us. Let us look inward together to consider how we can best sustain St. John’s for the future.
What is a pledge?
It’s a promise to support St John’s financially in the coming year. We are asking you to let us know now what you are planning to donate to the parish in 2027.
Our pledges fund the majority of the annual operating budget of St. John’s.
By pledging now in 2026, the Vestry and Finance Committee can develop a budget for 2027 based on what St John's expects to receive in donations next year.
What is the difference between a pledge and a gift?
A pledge is letting us know how much you plan give in the coming year. It is just a promise to give.
You then make the actual contributions (gifts) any time through the end of next year (December 2027) to fulfill the pledge that you are telling us about now.