Chapel of
Saint John the Divine

Stewardship

September 12, 2009

Dear Friends and Parishioners of the Chapel of St. John the Divine,

I am writing today to inform you that I have volunteered to lead the 2009-2010 Stewardship campaign at St. John the Divine. The annual stewardship campaign provides the foundation of our financial budget and identifies our options in how to move forward. This year, more than ever, it is important for us to know where we stand with upcoming pledge commitments, so our church leadership team can provide us with sound options and recommendations for moving forward.

We have seen a great effort by many with the Save the Chapel campaign, the summer fair, refurbishing the church office to rent, and many other events, and significant money has been raised. These efforts however, need to be supported by a steady commitment of pledging families in order for us to survive.

I have titled this year's campaign "What's in it for me?" As I stand before you in the upcoming weeks and ask you to give money to the Chapel of St. John the Divine, many of you will ask yourself "Why should I give?" I am asking you to search deep within your soul to identify what the church means to you, both personally and to your family. I see a strong parallel to my profession working with individuals and corporations to improve their physical health and overall wellbeing. I can not impact behavior change and improve one's quality of life unless they are personally committed to doing so. So I ask you now to consider your spiritual life and personal commitment to the church.

I encourage you to consider proportional giving. Look at your net income figure for the year and then calculate the percent of that figure which you gave to St. John's last year. It may be a very small percent, which is fine. I ask you to consider increasing by some amount; then next year, by something more. As we each consider our pledge contribution, let us not forget the many riches our church family provides: an embracing community, extended family, unsolicited support in a time of need, friendship and love, and an environment of Christian faith that provides nourishment through the sacraments, without conditions.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be sharing my personal and family experiences with all of you and invite you to share yours as well. It is through learning about other's personal experiences that we can enrich our own stewardship effort.

I look forward to enriching my spiritual health with each and every one of you in the coming weeks.

Kathy O'Neel-Webster

We prayerfully give of our time, talent, and treasure for the glory of God.

Fall is pledge time. In order to budget for the following year, the Vestry needs a very clear idea of how much money will be contributed in the following year. Decisions about staffing, services, and programs for 2010 are based on the number and amount of pledges for 2010 received by the end of 2009.

The Chapel of St. John the Divine needs your pledge. Please be generous.

Contact the church office about our planned giving program.

Please remember the Chapel of St. John the Divine in your will.

Save the Chapel

Parishioners gave talks about stewardship in Sunday services in November, 2008:

• John Edwards
• Janice Post
• Hays Rockwell