I was asked to write an article about this year’s Stewardship campaign at St. Andrew’s, but I think this will be part article, part confessional. My first confession is that when I volunteered to be the chairperson of the Stewardship campaign, I had never read a single letter from any of my predecessors. The only reason I had not read the letters in the past is that I already knew I was committed to pledging and giving to my church. So when I sat down to write my own letter, I didn’t know where to begin. I called Scott, I called Mona, I called Pastor Jen, and ultimately I did what any person does in the 21st century – I turned to Google. Since I had served on the Mission Study Committee for our church, I already knew that I wanted to draw upon the image that so many members of our congregation mentioned: the analogy that St. Andrew’s is like a strong tree that has stopped growing. I typed into the search bar, “bible verses tree.” Ultimately I hit upon the verse from Ephesians 3:17 and I knew immediately that this was my theme for the Stewardship campaign, because there is no doubt in my mind that we are a congregation rooted in love. Being rooted in love means that, as a church, we make our decisions based on our faith that God loves us and that we, in turn, are commanded to love one another. When we sit together in church, we may have different political views and different opinions on current church issues, but we are rooted in love. We recognize that each of us is created in God’s image and is loved by God. For me, this is what makes St. Andrew’s such a special church.
My second confession is that I have not turned in my pledge card yet. Can you believe it? I am the chair of Stewardship and I am still holding my blank pledge card in my hand. But guess what? The Finance Committee assures me that I still have time to turn it in. So if you are like me and haven’t turned in your pledge card yet, please know that you are invited to turn it in anytime. You can send in your pledge card using the addressed, stamped envelope that was included with the mailing; you can bring it with you to Sunday morning worship; or you can bring it to the office in person when Nancy is there, Tuesday through Thursday 9:00am – 2:00pm.
The good news is that even though I have not turned in my pledge card, many of you have. So far, the Finance Committee has received 66% of the pledge cards. Not only that, but people are pledging even more than last year. Thank you! I look forward to the next Stewardship update when, hopefully, I will be able to tell you that we have been able to share that we have a healthy budget for 2022.
Ann Padden-Rubin
Elder, Chair of Stewardship Committee