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Word About Stewardship: March 2009 Give, and it will be given to you: Good Measure, Pressed Down, Shaken Together, and Running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
To Pledge or Not to Pledge ? A Good Question.
Members have been asked to make a financial pledge to the church for 2009. A pledge is a promise. Many members willingly make a promise to God and the church as a matter of stewardship and loyalty. Some members hesitate and for understandable reasons. What if I can’t keep my pledge? What if I don’t know my income for 2008? What if unexpected expenses come up during the year? These are reasonable questions, but not insurmountable. In some ways a financial pledge is simply an “estimate of giving.” It’s our best guess at what we hope to give. In his book Generous People, Eugene Grimm outlines the benefits of estimating or pledging. · Pledging/Estimating risks in faith; it reflects the need to put God first. We trust God to provide. · Pledging/Estimating acknowledges that God asks for our commitment. A commitment of oneself to God includes a pledge of our financial resources. · Pledging/Estimating brings freedom. When tied to percentage giving, pledging frees us from wondering each week how much to give, frees us from the struggle over how much is enough. As one woman testified, “I found I was free in my giving. There was no longer the struggle about what to give. God would receive the first ten percent automatically. Anything we could give beyond that would be icing on the cake.” · Pledging/Estimating promotes disciplined giving. Instead of giving based on a whim or offering only what happens to be in your wallet or purse, setting aside a dollar amount per week or month disciplines the member to give a regular amount on a regular basis. · Pledging/Estimating enables the church to plan. It gives the leaders a more accurate picture of projected income for the coming year and enables them to plan accordingly. When your receive the invitation to pledge from the Stewardship Committee, please respond by prayerfully considering what God is calling you to give, then communicate that estimate of giving to the church via the pledge card.
To see the 2009 Stewardship campaign presentation click on of the following links. Stewardship Bulletin Insert 2010 Stewardship Presentation 2010 with script Stewardship Presentation 2010 without script
A tip from the Stewardship Committee for online banking users: Do you use your bank’s online banking system? Do you pay your bills online? Perhaps you don’t realize that you can pay your church pledge that way. You can set up 1st Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square as a payee weekly or monthly! It is a good way to pay your pledge on a regular basis and is especially helpful if you are away. Online bill pay saves you time and money. (No stamps required.) If you have any questions about how to do this please, contact Donna Hopkins.
The Ten Percent Solution… Pastor Andrew
The national economy is slumping and some people are struggling to meet their expenses. Good stewardship practices can help. To be faithful stewards means more than generous giving. It’s is also the wise management of our personal resources. Thus, in tough economic times we are reminded to live more simply, have less “stuff”, consume less, and base spending on careful thought and prayer. Learning contentment is also key.
What about giving during a recession? Does it necessarily mean cutting back on our offerings? Percentage giving can help us decide. If we give based upon what we consider an adequate dollar amount, then we are consistently tempted to believe we better lower our giving. While we might think we are making such a decision based solely on sound reason, it’s possible we are being influenced by fear, uncertainty, anxiety, or even greed and selfishness. So when we hear economic pundits issue the economic alarm, we’re suddenly holding on to our money.
However, if we base our giving on a percentage of our income (the Bible advocates 10% for God’s work) then the only variable is our actual income. If I give 10% of my income to the church, then the only reason to decrease giving is a decrease of income. There’s no fretting over financial predictions or worrying about having enough for the home front (presuming, of course, that I have been being a good steward by living within my means). Perhaps God set the 10 percent guide because he knows we will always find reasons to give less.
Maybe it’s possible to be generous even when money is tight. The biblical models of giving often have a sacrificial aspect. We can prayerfully consider what God may be calling us to do without in order to give more. In worship we sometimes refer to our tithes and offerings. Tithes are the gifts that come from our percentage (10%) giving. Offerings are those financial gifts that exceed our pledged percentage giving. This implies generous giving beyond what our income determines. It will be these kinds of extra gifts that can help the church when some members, of necessity due to income reductions, need to lower their pledges and gifts. A message from our church treasurer, Greg Foster: You may have noticed from the
financial reports in the Flock, that giving is up about $32,000 from
the same time last year. Our expenses, however, are up $36,000 over
the same period of time. Thanks to two very successful fundraisers,
we have managed to stay ahead of expenses so far for the year. “When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.” Romans 12:13 Pastor Andrew's sermon on Stewardship
"Are You A Mayday Giver or a Payday Steward?"
mp3 October
28,2007
8:15 & 9:30 CAN YOU HELP? Your help is needed by the volunteers who count the tithes and offerings the church receives on a weekly basis. If you are one of the many who drop a loose check into the collection plate, would you be willing to put your check into an offering envelope to make it easier for the counters? When a counter picks up a loose check, he/she needs to fill out a blank envelope with your name and the amount of your check in order to keep an accurate record for you. By using envelopes, you will help make the work of counting much easier. As always, your donations to this church are sincerely appreciated. If you need or would like envelopes, please leave a note in the Stewardship mailbox. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! PER CAPITA (or Keeping House in the Church) As members of the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square, we are called upon to share financial support for the Presbytery of New Brunswick, the Synod, and the General Assembly. This support is called PER CAPITA and is levied on EVERY member of the congregation. The cost is $22.00 PER MEMBER. PER CAPITA provides support for the General Assembly in the amount of $6.00 per member to cover meetings, committee expenses, membership fees, and operational costs. The Synod receives $4.00 per member for expenses associated with the Synod of the Northeast. The Presbytery amount is $12.00 per member providing for a portion of the presbytery’s budget covering such items as services to congregations and ministers, legal and financial services, camp and youth scholarships, just to name a few. By putting $22.00 PER MEMBER in an envelope, labeling it Per Capita and including your name, it would help defray a large part of the expense. The Per Capita line item in our church budget is more than $10,000. If you have questions or would like clarification on Per Capita, feel free to contact a member of the Stewardship Committee: A. Amato, B. Alfree, D. Hopkins, C. Karp, E. McCourt, M. Maione, or M. Runof.
The Sequel… “Building in Faith…Fulfilling the Vision III” Did You Miss it ? Click Here to see the presentation
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