{"id":739,"date":"2011-01-17T18:20:12","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T23:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wordpress\/"},"modified":"2013-12-12T11:25:16","modified_gmt":"2013-12-12T16:25:16","slug":"stewardship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/about\/committees\/stewardship\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewardship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Stewardship: Financially Supporting  the Church<\/p>\n<p>For more information contact the <a href=\"mailto:stewardship@uusharon.org\">Stewardship       committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>March 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pledging Sunday, March 14<\/p>\n<p>By now most of us have received our pledging  envelopes and our marching orders for pledging. As I was writing your  names on the commitment card, I was wondering about the spiritual  practice of giving. I remember two distinct experiences. The first was  when I was in Jr. High and had made \u201c lots\u201d of money babysitting and  then spent it all on great Christmas presents for my family. I remember  feeling elated. For the first time, I was truly on the giving end. The  second experience was when I first came to this church in 1978. During  services no one passed a collection plate. No one asked for money.  Correct me if I\u2019m wrong, but I think the asking for money felt too  improper, too personal, too pushy. Years have past and I look back and  wonder if we robbed folks of the spiritual opportunity of giving, where  you don\u2019t give to get but to be part of something. And that feels good.  My pledge will contribute to the growth and well-being of a place I call  home, a spiritual home. Financial giving is part of a spiritual  practice. I am thankful that I can contribute and join the spiritual  journey.<\/p>\n<p>Please take time to consider what the church means  to you, your family and to others who have yet to walk through our  doors and discover their spiritual home for the first time. And give as  generously as you can. Please, please, please, bring your commitment  card to Pledging Sunday, March 14\u2014or mail it earlier\u2014or give to one of  your Stewardship Committee members. The Board needs to know the pledging  total for next year so it can plan the programs\/ budget. (We don\u2019t want  to track you down, but you know we will!) Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Ellen Schoenfeld-Beeks<\/p>\n<p>Stewardship Committee: Rory McGregor, Pat McDougal, Bill Peyton<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>December 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the Stewardship Commitee<\/p>\n<p>The Stewardship Committee is busily preparing a  letter to the community at large (Sharonites who have given to the  MeetingHouse Preservation Fund, groups who have used our Meeting House,  past members\/friends), advising on the scope\/status of the AIM Project  and welcoming financial contributions if so motivated.<\/p>\n<p>Next on the docket for Stewardship is planning the  All Member Canvass, which takes place in March of 2010. The canvass  provides the opportunity for everyone to decide what they can give  financially to the proposed operating budget for the next church year  (July 2010 to June 2011). While that seems far away, organizing must  begin now. Ideas for how to grow the congregation in our new space will  be considered. Proposed budgets get put together. Priorities are  established. And a team of visiting stewards will be established.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone interested in the activities of the  Stewardship Committee is welcome to participate. Contact Ellen  Schoenfeld-Beeks, Pat McDougal, Rory McGregor, Bill Peyton for more  details.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>May 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Results of Stewardship Drive<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s annual Steward Drive was phenomenal!  We raised an additional $220,000 for the building project, and our  pledges for next year\u2019s operating budget, beginning July 1, 2009,  increased over last year by $7,000 to $161,000. Many people increased  their giving level, and likewise new members contributed for the first  time. Such results beg the question, why do we give? Wayne Clarke, the  Director of UUA Fundraising Services, lists six reasons:<\/p>\n<p>1. <em>Out of a sense of gratitude.<\/em> We give  because we acknowledge that we are fortunate to have already received  many gifts. Giving can feel like an act of worship, a celebration of  abundance.<\/p>\n<p>2. <em>To add meaning to our lives.<\/em> Giving is  one of the great joys of life. Giving provides a depth of purpose and  helps us to focus beyond our personal boundaries.<\/p>\n<p>3. <em>Because we like to help people.<\/em> We  are, by nature, predisposed to be helpful. If we believe in the case  that is being made, we will be motivated by the benefit that others will  receive from our gift.<\/p>\n<p>4. <em>In response to people we trust.<\/em> We give our gifts, call, and spiritual vocation to people we admire, to people who have a high level of integrity.<\/p>\n<p>5. <em>Because we believe in an organization\u2019s mission.<\/em> When we are passionately connected to a strong mission-driven case, we give.<\/p>\n<p>6. <em>Because someone asks.<\/em> Many of us find it hard to ask others for gifts, but we often give willingly to someone who musters the courage to ask.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to all for your many gifts, your call,  and your spiritual vocation, and thank you to the twenty-two visiting  stewards who helped with this year\u2019s annual pledge drive.<\/p>\n<p>Philip Conover, co-chair, Stewardship Committee<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>March 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Stewardship<\/p>\n<p>Giving is not always easy, particularly during  turbulent economic times. But, as in the past, we realize that giving is  a form of spiritual practice and we adjust our lifestyles to make it  possible. Through our pledges we commit to generosity as a way of life  while declaring our service towards others, both within our beloved  church community and elsewhere. This year is much like every other; we  need to speak powerfully through our pledges. As Lauriel Amabile,  Director of the UUA Annual Program Fund says, \u201cEvery gift breaks the  barrier between the mundane and the extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>March is a busy time for stewardship. On Saturday  evening, March 7th, the annual pledge drive kicks off with a festive  evening of fellowship and food. Mark your calendars for 7 p.m. and come  hungry. If you need childcare, please inform a member of the Stewardship  Committee. Then, on Sunday the 8th the pledge drive commences and  continues for the next two weeks. During this time, much like last year,  visiting stewards will meet with you to provide information about  church programs as well as listen and bring back any thoughts you\u2019d like  to share. They will provide guidelines for giving and accept your  pledge for the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009.<\/p>\n<p>When your visiting steward calls to make an  appointment, we hope you will welcome this opportunity to reflect on  what our church and its congregation mean in your life and respond to  the call with generosity.<\/p>\n<p>Your Stewardship Committee: Philip Conover, Rory  McGregor, Tim Monroe, David Schoenfeld, Ellen Schoenfeld-Beeks, and  Colleen Tuck.<\/p>\n<p>Read an inspiring <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/about\/committees\/stewardship\/\">stewardship testimonial<\/a> given at a service in March.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>February 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Building Community Together<\/p>\n<p>We build our beloved community in many ways \u2013  through service, in worship, and by contributing financially. As we  approach our annual Stewardship Drive, the Stewardship Committee asks  you to especially consider your financial support of all that we do  together.<\/p>\n<p>We have two goals this year. Our first is to fully  fund the budgets requests made by the church committees to support the  good work of our church \u2013 music and worship, religious education for all  ages, outreach to the larger community, and support for the  denomination and the work they do. We also hope to close the gap in our  capital fundraising to minimize &#8211; or eliminate &#8211; the need for a  mortgage.<\/p>\n<p>A delicious dinner and congenial fellowship on  Saturday evening March 7 will kick off the campaign, followed by a  special stewardship worship service the next morning led by our Interim  Ministry Tricia Brennan. Before then, members of the Stewardship  Committee will be asking many of you to help as Visiting Stewards. Our  approach will be similar to last year&#8217;s, and we&#8217;ll offer training on  both Thursday evening, March 5 and Saturday morning, March 7. Child care  will be available for those who need it. So reserve these dates in your  calendar and, when one of us calls to enlist your help, please respond,  &#8220;Yes, I can!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Together, our efforts will fund all our programs  for the year beginning July 1 \u2013 an historic year as we complete  construction and move into our new addition, enlarged and modernized to  accommodate all we do together and fully accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Your Stewardship Committee: Philip Conover, Rory  McGregor, Tim Monroe, David Schoenfeld, Ellen Schoenfeld-Beeks, and  Colleen Tuck.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>December 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Capital Campaign Update<\/p>\n<p>It brings me great joy to report that the capital  campaign fund has over $300,000 in its account and is projected to raise  over $700,000 by the end of December. Please keep those capital  campaign pledges coming in, expenses will be accruing soon as the  project gets further underway, and the earlier we receive your gifts the  less we will need in a bridge loan as we wait for pledges. Meanwhile,  the Stewardship Committee is pursuing other fundraising efforts in order  to reduce the amount of long-term financing required. Not until final  bids are in will we know how much of a mortgage loan is needed, stay  tuned.<\/p>\n<p>I recently finished paying my first year\u2019s  installment to the Capital Campaign. The words of Wayne Clarke, director  of Congregational Fundraising Services, reverberated with me as I made  out my check: \u201cPeople are not born with a giving gene.\u201d It was hard for  me to fork over what was, for me, a large sum of money. It caused me to  pause and twinge and reflect. I asked myself many times, why am I giving  my savings to this project, particularly when there are so many other  things I could spend the money on? Wayne Clarke offered some answers  when he said, \u201cWe give because we acknowledge that we are fortunate to  have already received many gifts.\u201d He goes on, \u201cGiving provides a depth  of purpose that peels away several layers of our day-today  superficiality. Giving takes us away from navel gazing and helps us to  focus beyond our personal boundaries.\u201d He concludes, \u201cGiving can feel  like an act of worship, a celebration of abundance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Philip Conover<\/p>\n<p>Pledges<\/p>\n<p>To all who made annual, or capital campaign, or  both pledges \u2013 Thank you very much. As the calendar year is coming to a  close, you may want to consider the tax implications of making your  payments before the year ends.<\/p>\n<p>Many of you pledged to contribute by the end of  this calendar year (particularly to the capital campaign). We hope you  will be able to fulfill these pledges.<\/p>\n<p>If however, your circumstances will not allow you  to do this, please, please let us know. We rely very heavily on the  scheduling of pledges for managing both the church\u2019s operations and the  AIM project. If you have to revise either pledge in terms of the  schedule of contributions or the total, we ask that you notify Susan  Allison, Treasurer, about changes to annual pledges, or one of the  members of the Stewardship Committee (David or Ellen Schoenfeld, Philip  Conover, Rory McGregor, Colleen Tuck, or Tim Monroe) in the case of the  capital campaign.<\/p>\n<p>If you have not yet made a pledge to either the  annual or capital campaign but are now in a position to do so, we would  be most grateful to receive either or both. Please contact either the <a href=\"mailto:treasurer@uusharon.org\">Treasurer<\/a> or <a href=\"mailto:stewardship@uusharon.org\">Stewardship Committee<\/a> member as appropriate.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>November 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gifts, Call, and Spiritual Vocation<\/p>\n<p>Stewardship, as defined in the book Beyond  Fundraising: A Complete Guide to Congregational Stewardship, is \u201cThe  growing, nurturing, promoting, and building of congregant\u2019s gifts, call,  and spiritual vocation.\u201d In this spirit, the Steward Committee, in  conjunction with the Finance Committee and Board of Trustees, has begun  work on next year\u2019s operating budget. Here\u2019s a quick rundown of what\u2019s  coming up:<\/p>\n<p>In October and November the Finance Committee is  asking all committees to begin formulating their budget requests for the  next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2009. In January, the Finance  Committee will combine these requests along with other information and  send a proposed budget to the Board of Trustees. After their initial  approval, the Stewardship Committee will begin its campaign, with this  preliminary budget as our goal. The Stewardship campaign will culminate  in March when we visit members and friends (much like last year) to ask  for your support. Once completed and the Finance Committee and Board of  Trustees know the total pledges and other income, they will prepare a  final budget for members\u2019 approval at the June Annual Meeting.<\/p>\n<p>We look forward to an exciting year, highlighted  by the construction of our new wing. We know the excitement generated by  our hopes and plans will translate into another successful Stewardship  campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Your Stewardship Committee: Philip Conover, Rory McGregor, Tim Monroe, David Schoenfeld, Ellen Schoenfeld-Beeks, Colleen Tuck<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>June 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Stewardship Committee planned and implemented  both the AIM Capital Campaign and the Annual Canvass Campaign. To date  the AIM Capital Campaign has raised $1,017,674 in pledges, and the  Annual Canvas has raised $151,846. We initiated a new fundraising  process whereby we utilized visiting stewards and made specific ask  amounts for the capital project. This process was well received and the  results were encouraging. The AIM totals are obviously a great success,  but we would like to have raised more for the annual canvass. It is  typical, however, in a campaign year for annual giving to remain flat or  even decrease slightly. In future years I recommend that pledging  members be asked to give a specific amount to the annual canvass that  reflects an increase in their previous year\u2019s gift.<\/p>\n<p>Our experience this year tells us that the more  communication with the congregation the better. The frequent articles in  the Chalice, the frequent talks and announcements during services, and  the large celebrations both at the beginning and end of the campaign  were very beneficial and I think helped to boost our totals. The active  participation and endorsement of the Minister was also a great boon to  our efforts.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>May 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The late Dr. Karl Menninger was a leading  psychiatrist and one of the founders of the Menninger Clinic, the  well-known psychiatric hospital. In an interview in Newsweek Magazine in  November of 1959 he said, \u201cMoney-giving is a very good criterion \u2026 of a  person\u2019s mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill  people.\u201d If Dr. Menninger was right\u2014and I believe that he was\u2014this  congregation is full of very sane people.<\/p>\n<p>Just over a month ago we launched a campaign to  secure the funds to make this meetinghouse accessible and to expand it  to meet the needs of this burgeoning community, and to raise enough  money to meet our increasing annual budgetary needs.<\/p>\n<p>On the night of March 15th, we had a party  downstairs to kick-off this effort and we announced that the goal for  the building project was to raise $800,000. I am very pleased to be able  to report that due to the generosity\u2014the sanity\u2014of so many in this  community we have pledges for the building project totaling $813,720,  and we have pledges for the annual budget of just over $130,000. This  community in just a few short weeks has raised nearly a million  dollars!!<\/p>\n<p>We have surpassed the goal for the AIM project and  we are going to keep going. The best news is that there are still many  in the community that we have not heard from yet. We will continue to  collect pledges sheets until everyone has had a chance to fill one out.  We have one more week to go before we end this phase of the campaign. So  if you haven\u2019t been visited yet, and you haven\u2019t had a chance to make  your pledge\u2014and for the sake of your sanity you feel that you  must\u2014please talk to me or to any member of the stewardship committee.<\/p>\n<p>On April 27, after the service we will have a  celebration of all that we have done together to make the dream of this  project come true. That will be a good time to have some fun, pat  ourselves on the back, and\u2014 it seems only appropriate\u2014to get a little  crazy.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>March 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the Stewardship Committee\u2019s main jobs           is to secure the resources necessary to make the Accessibility           and Improvements to the Meetinghouse (AIM) Project a reality. There are           many people who have been working very hard to nail down the last design           details and to determine exactly how much the project will cost. As           these important details are in the final stages of being worked out,         the Stewardship Committee wanted to share some very good news.<\/p>\n<p>Even though fundraising for the project has yet to \u201cofficially\u201d begin,         a small and very committed group has stepped forward early to show their         support for the project, for this community, and to give us a great head         start.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As of this writing we have received 6 gifts totaling $286,500!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These early gifts are very large and generous but they were not easy         to make. They represent strong commitment and sacrifice on the part of         the donors. They reflect a passion for our community and a willingness         to do whatever it takes to move it forward.<\/p>\n<p>While this is certainly terrific news and these early           gifts are very impressive, I realize that some in the congregation           may find these numbers intimidating. You might be thinking to yourself\u2014as           I think to myself\u2014I         want to support the AIM project, but I cannot give at the level that         these early donors have clearly given. The important message to hear         is that every single gift\u2014big, small, in between\u2014will matter.         Every gift will help make this project a reality.<\/p>\n<p>In the coming weeks we will be asking people to think about the AIM         project, to think about how important this community is to you and to         your family, and then make a decision to make a gift to both the AIM         Project and the Annual Pledge Drive that is commensurate with your commitment         to this community and with your own particular circumstances. We will         be suggesting that people can make their gifts over a three-year period         in the hopes that this will allow people to stretch.<\/p>\n<p>On March 15 here at the church we will be holding an event         to celebrate our early success and to kick-off both the Annual Pledge         and Capital Campaigns. Then, in the days following, Stewardship members         and others will be meeting one-on-one with everyone to ask for their         commitments. The Stewardship Committee is grateful to our early donors         and is now brimming with confidence as we move forward.<\/p>\n<p>The AIM project is beginning to come into sharp focus.         What has been a dream for a long time is coming true, but it will take       every single one of us to make it happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stewardship: Financially Supporting the Church For more information contact the Stewardship committee. March 2010 Pledging Sunday, March 14 By now most of us have received our pledging envelopes and our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":351,"featured_media":0,"parent":675,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-739","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/351"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/739\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uusharon.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}