2022 Stewardship Letter and Narrative Budget

November 14, 2021

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above…”
James 1:17, NRSV

Dear Fellow St. Michael’s Parishioner,

Our Stewardship theme this year, Every Perfect Gift, highlights all the ways in which we have been blessed by God and how that inspires us to give back to our neighbors, our church, the world, and ultimately to God.

This year, 2021, has been very different from other years in terms of what’s been asked of us as individuals and as a community. I know some of us are struggling with finances, with isolation, and with uncertainty. I want to share with you the following for a historical perspective of pledging at St. Michael’s:

As you can see, pledge dollars and units dropped considerably in 2021, but remain in line with other churches in the Episcopal Diocese. Unfortunately, we have lost some beloved parishioners during 2021, so we anticipate fewer renewals. To offset the decline in pledges, we have been blessed by an increase in “Parish Center Donations,” monies paid for the use of our church property. Unfortunately, this increase Is only temporary. Harbor Day School will soon finish their remodel and the Coptic church will move to their new space in Costa Mesa. The Finance Committee and Vestry are focused on ways to address this future known shortfall. We also pray that a new Rector and the resumption of in-person services will reverse this trend. We have a beautiful campus and a strong commitment by our parishioners to help make this happen.

Your Vestry and staff have prepared a Narrative Budget (enclosed) to illustrate how your 2021 pledge dollars are spent. St. Michael’s Vestry adopted this approach as an effort to be more transparent. The Narrative Budget shows pledge dollars allocated across our four, core ministry areas: Worship, Serve, Grow, and Connect. Every pledge dollar is tied to ministry. As you can see our leadership has taken great care to be good and responsible stewards of the many resources entrusted to our care.

This year I invite you to make your pledge commitment, reflective of the gifts you have received from our Creator. Sunday, December 5, 2021, will be Giving Sunday, where the pledge cards will be collected at the altar. You may also return the enclosed Pledge Card by mail, or go online to our website to make your pledge for 2022. If you have not pledged in the past, please consider making the commitment this year. If you do pledge, we hope you are able to increase your pledge to help us meet our goal. Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

Sincerely,
Keith R Lumpkin
Stewardship

Ways to Pledge

Narrative Budget

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