Christ Episcopal Church, Needham, MA: Stewardship

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:11)

Stewardship (our management of and care for God's many gifts) is a year-round concern. But every Fall, as we approach the beginning of a new liturgical year, we devote time to a serious, intentional, and prayerful consideration of the temporal needs of our congregation and our response to those needs. Stewardship is about more than a purely financial commitment. It is a spiritual discipline that helps to remind us that everything we are and everything we have are God's free gift to us, and that we have a responsibility to use those gifts to give glory to God and to spread God's love to all people.

Read our 2012 brochure: Planting Seeds of Hope

Knowing what financial resources the church will have throughout the year allows the Vestry to determine the level of quality staffing, the depth of our Christian education program, the extent of our outreach programs, the ability to sustain our music program, and allows us to meet our obligations to the diocese and to the Barbara C. Harris Camp.

Why is pledging important and why can’t I just contribute week by week when I wish?

Pledging is about making a commitment. Not just a commitment to Christ Church but to God. Pledging is a way of thinking that I will make God a top priority each week and not an afterthought. Pledging is also a way of stating that I am a significant and valuable part of the church congregation and I want to do my part to see that the church remains vital and vibrant in all of its sixty-plus ministries.

Your pledge helps the church treasurer, the Vestry and the Finance Committee establish its mission goals for the coming year that support pastoral care, worship, maintenance, education, outreach and family assistance.

The answer is personal and private and is determined by each person and family depending upon how one counts their blessings and how they wish to respond to God with grateful thanksgiving.

God is the one who ultimately knows the depth of your generosity in time, talent and treasure. On a practical level, the Church treasurer, stewardship chairs, wardens, and accountant have access to the information. But each pledge is coded and held confidentially by them.

Last year, the church received 188 pledges representing about 90% of our total membership. Many of our members also contribute in other important and vital ways by volunteering their precious time and unique gifts in extraordinary ways that are both visible and invisible.

Christ Church does not have a large endowment; and took a hit during the economic downturn. Pledges become even more important during these times. The Vestry hopes to be less dependent on the endowment for our working capital in order to allow the church to support the necessary maintenance and upkeep of the church property, plant and equipment. We hope that over time the church can be funded by today’s people for today’s needs.

As you might expect, the largest areas of expenditure are church staffing, upkeep and improvement of the facilities, and the program and outreach ministries. There are many of our outreach programs that do not appear in our formal church budget such as Shelter Cooking and Pastoral Response Ministries. The people of Christ Church have a proud history of faithful service and generous giving and sharing of their blessings in Christ’s name.