St. Peter's By The Sea
The Episcopal Church in Narragansett, RI
Frequently Asked Questions about the Annual Stewardship Pledge
Q. What is a Stewardship Pledge?
A. Stewardship means that we are stewards–caretakers–of the Church. We carry on the traditions of worship every Sunday. We care for the sick and suffering through pastoral visits. We feed the disadvantaged through our food pantry and other outreach efforts. We nourish each other and ourselves through prayer and other spiritual disciplines, such as volunteering our time or offering our financial support for our many ministries.
A pledge is an estimate of how much money your family will give during the year to support the operating expenses of St. Peter’s. Your commitment can be changed any time by notifying the Treasurer. You can pledge whenever you like, but we stress pledging in the fall as we prepare our budget.
Q. Why do you want me to pledge?
A. Each year, we budget for our expenses. We ask the congregation to supply us with a guesstimate of what our income will be.
Q. What are these expenses?
A. Ask the office to send you an annual report. In 2008, we anticipate spending $300,000: 56% on clergy & staff, 19% on property, 14.5% on ministries of the diocese and world-wide church, 8% on supplies, and 3% on misc. congregational expenses.
Q. Who should pledge?
A. Everyone. People who attend almost every service, those who join us for the summer, or who attend at Christmas and Easter only, married, single, adults, children–all can show they care. Asking children to take responsibility for helping those less fortunate is a wonderful way to train them in moral and ethical behavior.
If you wish to have a voice in parish policies, vote at the annual meeting, or hold office on the Vestry, you must pledge.
Q. I hate making that kind of commitment. Can I still come to church if I don’t pledge?
A. Of course! And you’re no less welcome than anyone else.
Q. How much should I pledge?
A. The Episcopal Church has established the tithe, one tenth of your income, as the standard of giving. We hope that you will aspire to the tithe by increasing your pledge a little each year. But we understand that many feel that 3% is a more likely percentage of income to pledge.
Some families prefer to pledge the amount it costs per family to keep our doors open each week: $29, or $1500 per year. If you are an average family, making about $50,000 a year, this might be appropriate for you.
Others, thankful for God’s many blessings, give more. If your family’s income is around $100,000, you might consider doubling: $58 per week or $3000 per year.
If you’re living on social security or just scraping by or sending all 10 of your children to Harvard, you may be able to afford much less. How about $12 per year (that’s only $1 per month). Or $52 per year (that’s $1 per week.) A youngster might pledge a nickel per week.
Any amount pledged is welcomed equally. The spiritual discipline of giving pays no heed to how much you give, only to how much of what you have you give. Giving is a spiritual discipline, like prayer or doing good works.
Q. Do you prefer cash or checks?
A. Checks. But cash is fine if you use a numbered envelope like the one pictured on the Financial Support page. If you forget your numbered envelope, put your cash in a plain envelope and clearly print your number (or your name, if you can’t remember the number) on the outside.
Many people who attend weekly give only one check a month to make their bookkeeping easier.
Check or cash, the almoners (people who count each week) beg you not to fold it! It takes longer to count.
People who give a single yearly donation may want to give appreciated securities for the extra tax benefits.
We regret that we cannot accept livestock, first fruits, or frequent flier miles. However, we’re happy to accept large bricks of fine gold.
Q. What’s a quarterly report?
A. Not a bill! Not a guilt-trip! We are required by the diocese to send you an accounting of what you pledged and what you gave each quarter (3 months). We have been known to make errors, so if you find one, call us immediately so we can correct it.