VESTRY STATEMENT ON STEWARDSHIP

The Vestry and Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church affirm that we have been given, and gladly accept, responsibility for stewardship of God’s creation. All that we have and all that we are comes from God, the sovereign of our lives and all creation. Stewardship is all that we do with all that we are and all that we have all of the time.

We also affirm the central importance in our lives of Jesus’ commandment to love God, love our neighbor and love one another, as well as our own need to give of ourselves and all that we possess.

In response to these affirmations, and in joyful thanksgiving, we strive to give generously of our time, energy, talents and money. Cheerful giving is the first principle of sound stewardship.

We affirm proportionate giving as the second principle of sound stewardship. This means choosing to give of our treasure, time, and talents to the church (and other ministries or charities consonant with the gospel of Jesus Christ) on a percentage basis and not only by amount. With respect to our treasure, we start with the question: What percentage of my total income—however each person chooses to define income—did I give this year?

We affirm sacrificial giving as the third principle of sound stewardship. Here the question for each Christian is: How far can I stretch in giving both cheerfully and proportionately next year? We acknowledge our sinful tendency to preserve for our own benefit more than what we need. We therefore accept for ourselves, and commend to this parish, the spiritual discipline of setting a sacrificial goal for our giving and stretching ourselves toward it. We reach toward it by increasing annually the proportion of income given to the church and other helping ministries. For some, striving toward the tithe (10%) may be very sacrificial. For others, sacrificial giving may mean going well beyond the tithe.

Discerning the proper level of cheerful, proportionate and sacrificial giving is a personal choice between each Christian and God. This is holy ground. We pray for discernment for all of us, in recognition that stewardship is a vocation into which all of us individually and as a community are called.

We commit to using the resources entrusted to Emmanuel, with God’s help, so that we may all grow more Christ-like, serve others in the power of the Spirit, and proclaim the Good News of God’s love for all people through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

These gifts help the church account for unplanned expenses (building maintenance etc...) or allow for more involvement in our community than the budget had allowed in the given year.

Annual pledges

Your annual pledges allow the church to operate. It is important to know the expected income for the upcoming year so that we are able to create and adhere to our budget.

Special purpose pledges

The most recent example of this was the Foundation for the Future campaign. Because of your up front pledges we were able to search and find a wonderful and much needed Assistant Rector.

Bequeaths to Emmanuel Endowment Fund

This is leaving Emmanuel a financial gift upon your passing. There are many ways in which to accomplish this as well as tax and estate planning considerations. These kinds of gifts have the possibility of benefiting our church and the community for many years to come.

Thank you for your continued support on Emmanuel. You are helping many people with each gift you make. Please make an effort to visit this page often, as we will be adding information continually. You may also direct questions you may have about supporting the church to your Vestry Finance and Stewardship chairpersons.