Dear Friends of Saint John's:

Clearly we at St. John’s have been blessed with so much abundance for which to be thankful: a beautiful church and grounds, a committed, open, loving, growing congregation, relative security and enough to eat. Although the news from around the world is dismaying, there is progress being made, and we can take heart that we, as a community of God , are a growing force in the making of that progress.

We have undergone tremendous growth in the last few years, building an open, loving congregation that is contributing both in our neighborhood and across the globe. The good news is that our contributing membership is up to about 70 families. On the other hand, a church of our size needs more like 150 contributing families for long-term stability. That means we will continue to be short-handed for a little while longer.

That short-handedness brings extra importance to the word “stewardship”, and with that added importance, perhaps it is a good time to consider what it really means. Reflections on Stewardship on Stewardship illustrates how the members of the commission responded when asked to interpret that word. It was a wonderful exercise for each of us, and we encourage each member of the congregation to spend a few moments thinking seriously about how they would define stewardship.

It is vital this year that we look inside ourselves and examine the part that St. John’s plays in our lives and ensure that we play a commensurate part in St. John’s life. Playing that part can take many forms. Each of us has some talent that we can contribute, some time that can be spared, some effort that can make a difference. Please look at “Time & Talents” and let us know the areas where you think you’d like to help.

And, of course there is the money.

During our recent growth period, we have been shielded from the impact of our small numbers thanks to an incredibly generous bequest by a former member. That bequest has been rapidly depleted so as to balance our budget the last few years. This was a conscious decision, made to allow us to grow our numbers without undue financial burden from the members. It was our belief that, as we continued to grow, our income would increase accordingly, to compensate for the final depletion of our investments. And it has. But not fast enough. This year, with the depletion of the bequest, we will need more than double our pledging versus last year, in order to break even.

Please prayerfully consider your commitment to Saint John’s as you prepare to fill out your pledge card and give back to God as best you can, confident in the understanding that, especially this year, your Pledge does make a difference.

The Stewardship Commission

Sharon Keyser, Chris Ockenlaender, Roy Ortman, Gray Safford, Bill Serrani, Kimberly Sykes