Annual Pledge Campaign

 

October 13, 2008

Dear St. Paul’s Parishioners,

Autumn is the season of abundance and of giving thanks.  We give thanks for our families and our friends, and we give thanks for the mercy of God’s grace present in our lives each and every day.  It is also the time of year when we come together as a community of faith at St. Paul’s to give thanks for God’s gifts we have received and to listen faithfully to what God intends for us to be.

As co-chairs of the 2009 Annual Pledge Campaign, we invite you to share this journey of stewardship with us.  As the St. Paul’s Stewardship Statement proclaims, we “joyfully acknowledge and believe that all we are, all we have, and all we ever will be and have, is a Gift from God.”  

For 2009, the Vestry has outlined three area of emphasis for the church:

·    Commitment to a 2nd full-time clergy:  providing a continued commitment to such church ministries as Pastoral Care, Christian Formation, and Mission/Outreach work.

·    Church growth emphasizing Christian Formation: bringing much-needed resources to child, youth and adult programs; all designed to spread the joy of worship at St. Paul’s to the greater community.

·    Ability to fund specific Mission/Outreach initiatives: providing a sustainable fund in the budget that focuses on previously unmet needs, such as allowing church members to travel for mission work and bring those mission experiences back to St. Paul’s; the ability to fund Mission/Outreach in local communities; and a continued commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

The 2009 Annual Pledge Campaign will strive to fulfill these needs, and the other increases in utilities and routine church operations anticipated for the coming year.  Responding to the areas of emphasis and other operational increases represents an additional need of $53,000 over last year’s pledges.  The goal of the 2009 Annual Pledge Campaign is $615,000.

The Annual Pledge Campaign is part of a larger stewardship journey that we take as individuals.  Your thoughtful consideration of these areas of emphasis, your own stewardship journey, and what you believe God is calling us to be will ultimately decide if we can fulfill these needs.

Over the next six weeks you will learn more about these areas of emphasis through personal reflections by church members during the worship services as well as through Connections, the St. Paul’s web site (www.stpauls-dayton.org), and additional mailings to your home.  We want to hear from you.  Please feel free to talk to us at church or call us at home. We are a blessed community at St. Paul’s and we have much good news to share.  We look forward to sharing this journey together.

 

Anne and Doug Almoney                           Becky and John Butler
937.293.1322                                             937.299.3291