The Stewardship Program |
Click Here for a 2007 Pledge Card
Date this page was last updated - January 03, 2007
The Stewardship Program at Saint Sophia is a simple, practical and above all, a Christian plan to finance and operate our Church. The Stewardship Program places responsibility for supporting our Church and its various ministries and in planning for the future on every parishioner. No one member is asked to give a specific amount; there are no dues. All that is asked of you is that you give a percentage of what you have received from our Lord, in order to sustain His beloved Church and its ministries. The ideal, which our Stewardship program strives to implement, is based on allowing each individual to give according to their means and conscience. Everyone 18 years of age or older, who is self-supporting and who wants to assume his/her responsibility to their Church, should make a commitment. Below are some of the commonly asked questions on Stewardship. Please make every effort to read and understand the questions and answers; as they will help each one in making their financial commitment to the Saint Sophia Community.
COMMON QUESTIONS - DIRECT ANSWERS
1. What is Christian Stewardship?
Stewardship, from the Greek word “oikonomia”, means managing another’s property or affairs. Christian stewardship means using the gifts that God has given each of us to fulfill His purpose, to care for each other and for all of His creation with love and respect, to help prepare one another for God. This is the most ancient form of giving to the Church. It is the one way that the support of the Church is viewed as a matter of personal commitment and conscience. It is the way of maintaining our Church with Christian care, an active understanding of our Church’s needs, and by committing an honest portion of our time, our skills and our money for the work and support of the Church. It is a fair way to give because it enables each of us to give according to how God has blessed us.
2. Why a Stewardship Program at St. Sophia?
The Archdiocese has been actively supporting the transition from dues to a stewardship program at parishes throughout the country. Of 195 parishes surveyed to date, 55 still use dues, 42 have stewardship with a minimum and 98 have a true (no minimum) stewardship program. Our parish switched from dues to stewardship in 1989. Under the Stewardship program each of us are given the responsibility to decide how much money and time, and what skills we commit to the church each year. The intent of Stewardship is to help us progress from the attitude of “paying one’s dues” to a wholehearted and joyful giving of the gifts we receive from God. Remember, our talents, our abilities, are God’s gifts to us. How we use them is our gift to God. Stewardship is meant to help each of us to actively and prayerfully strive to do our unique part in fulfilling the commission we receive at baptism: to be witnesses of our Lord’s grace and love and to help people come to Him. The theme of our Stewardship Program is New Heart & New Spirit to emphasize the change required in our heart and spirit in order to become like our Lord Jesus Christ and to become better stewards of His Church.
3. Who is included in a household?
A stewardship household includes husband, wife, and children under 18, or attending college and not self-supporting. Each working, self-supporting adult over 18 should make his/her own commitment.
4. What is a Stewardship Pledge?
Your Stewardship Pledge is a statement of intention made in good faith to give of your money, time, and skills to support the ministries and operation of God’s Holy Church. A new Pledge is made for each calendar year. It is made by filling out the “Financial Pledge” card for your financial commitment, and the “Time and Talents Pledge” card for your commitment of time and skills in the various ministries of our parish. The annual pledge is our way to provide the parish with an assured level of financial support. The time and talent pledge helps to match members with the various missions of the Church.
5. How much money should I give to the Church annually for stewardship?
It’s between you and God to decide what is the right amount for you. In Old Testament times, people were expected to tithe, or give 10% of their income for the support of the Synagogue and to take care of the widows and orphans.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese considers 10% to be a guideline; the right percentage for you could be more, or it could be less depending on your circumstances. The Archdiocese considers 4% of annual income as the beginning of a stewardship-based offering. The average giving among all church-going Christian families in the United States is about 3%. For an annual household income of $45,000 this corresponds to $1350 per year. See the attached chart on page 6 for various household incomes.
In 1999 it cost $961.00 per day to operate our Church. The annual cost of keeping St. Sophia open averaged out to $1443 per each day of our 243 households. If people gave that much our fundraisers could be used for doing charitable work, writing down the existing mortgage and for building a new Church. The key points to remember when developing your financial giving plan to the Church are:
6. How is the money used?
Here are the major categories of our 2000 budget of $ 355,798 for our parish:
Major Categories 2000 Budget
Mortgage $103,264
Salaries & Taxes $139,239
Building Operation & Maintenance $32,570
Archdiocese Commitment $21,600
Insurance $19,000
Utilities $17,500
These six items alone accounted for 94% of the 2000 budget! The remainder of the budget is for the various ministries of Church including donations, the Sunday and Vacation Bible Schools, the Choir, Goya/Joy, etc. You can see a graphic summary of the budget at the stewardship booth. Detailed information is also sent out to all parishioners prior to the fall General Assembly meeting for review and approval by all stewards.
7. Is there a specific minimum amount required?
No, there is no mandatory minimum. However, as we discussed above under Question No. 5, in 1999 it cost $1443 per household to keep St. Sophia operating. We offer a giving guideline of 3 to 4% of your annual household income. Situations involving financial hardship will of course be addressed with understanding. Please see father Andrew.
8. Why should I give more?
Can any of us ever offer back to God what He has Blessed us with…our lives, our health, our families and friends? Let’s be honest with ourselves…can we ever match God’s gifts to us? There is so much more for us to do! Each year there is a shortfall between the actual needs of the parish and the revenue.
9. What does the Church do for me?
The Church exists to help sustain us with Christ our Savior. Without the Church what do we have? Nothing. It is best not to ask what can the Church do for me, but to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ died for us and He was raised from the dead for us. He established the Church to help prepare as many people as possible to become like Him and to be with Him forever. By committing as a steward, you help keep the Word of God alive here at St. Sophia and you are supporting the work of our Lord.
10. How should I fulfill my financial commitment?
You may choose the manner that suits you best. You can make payments weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually, depending on you situation. We recommend weekly or monthly offerings because: it helps us develop a good practice of budgeting and making regular contributions; and it provides the Church with a more balanced cash flow throughout the year; it is easier for most families to manage periodic payments.
11. Can time and talent contributions take the place of money contributions?
It is not right to expect to avoid giving money by contributing more of one’s time and talent. Everyone is in a position to donate some percent of their annual income to the Church. This is all part of making a total commitment to our Lord and to our Church.
12. How about our contributions for candles, trays, fundraisers and other donations, don’t they count towards our financial stewardship?
Of course they do! But we need to ask ourselves: “Is this enough?” At tax time add up all your contributions in stewardship pledges, Philoptochos donations, fundraiser contributions, etc. Figure out what percentage that sum is of your total family income? How does it compare to the 10% benchmark of tithing? Are we anywhere near that level? Let’s even stretch things and add all other donations we make during the year. Does this total add up to at least 10%?
13. Do you have any suggestions for stewardship and estate planning?
It is never too early to include our Church in our estate planning. Contact the stewardship committee if you have any specific questions about this.
14. Who knows about my financial contribution?
This is restricted information--held in the strictest confidence. Only the priest and Church secretary know.
15. What is our goal in financial pledge collections?
Our stewardship pledges cover about 35% of the current parish budget. Our challenge is for stewardship pledges to cover all the day-to-day operating & maintaining the Church and all its programs, or 48% of the total budget. Our long-term goal is to meet 100% of our budget through the stewardship pledges. We are realistic--100% reliance on stewardship will not happen in the next few years. It is a goal to achieve as our Church grows and as we learn to support her from our hearts, with love and trust that God will provide what we need to do His work.
BUDGETING FOR FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP
Each year as we consider our Stewardship Commitment, we ask: How Much Money Should I Give? Stewardship involves an individual and personal commitment--a commitment that you make to God, and for God. Therefore, the best measure of the proper level of giving is by God’s standards as presented in the Bible and by our current capabilities and resources. The chart below helps us to calculate a weekly giving amount for various levels of giving as a percentage of annual household income and compared to the Biblical measure of “tithing” (10%). Let your heart and your trust in God guide you!
Are you a Steward for 2007?
Commit your family to God and His Church.