|
|
|
|
Season of Light Week 1: Introduction
|
Season of Light Week 2: Church Budget
|
|
|
|
|
Season of Light Week 3
1. Mo. Rebecca speaking to role as Minister for Congregational Life 2. Gabrielle Strickler and Katelyn Webster speaking about Children's, Youth and Young Adult ministries |
Every day, St. James is able to make a difference in the lives of those around us because of the loyalty and generosity of those who contribute. The faithfulness in giving of those before us has helped build the parish that we are today. As we look to the future, we too have the opportunity to enable the mission of the parish to continue for the generations that will succeed us.
There are a number of ways to support the programs and ministries of St. James by-the-Sea through financial support. Your regular gifts help sustain these programs and ministries.
Pledging
We are united as Christians through our love, our service, and our commitment to Christ. To support the work of this parish and its ministries, and as one of the basic forms of Christian stewardship, we ask all members of our community of faith to contribute financially in the form of a yearly pledge. The amount is a matter between you and God, and is confidential.
There are a number of ways to support the programs and ministries of St. James by-the-Sea through financial support. Your regular gifts help sustain these programs and ministries.
Pledging
We are united as Christians through our love, our service, and our commitment to Christ. To support the work of this parish and its ministries, and as one of the basic forms of Christian stewardship, we ask all members of our community of faith to contribute financially in the form of a yearly pledge. The amount is a matter between you and God, and is confidential.
A Season of Light - 2021
We invite everyone who worships at St. James to “step up” to the work of God in the church and the world. We hope you will make your pledge intention known to us by completing a pledge card and returning it to us by November 15. Obtain a pledge card by calling the office, 858-459-3421.
You may fill in a 2021 Pledge online - click here. 
You can fill in this form online by clicking this image.
Plate Offerings are an important source of income that the Parish relies on to support their programs and ministries.
Special gift appeals are made in circumstances where, for example, actual income does not meet budgeted amounts to fund a particular program or project; or where an unexpected need or opportunity presents itself. We hope that in addition to your pledge, you will consider making plate offerings and special gifts either in response to an appeal or, if you are so moved, to initiate a special gift of your own! Estate or Planned Gifts We also hope that you will consider helping the church in preparing for the longer term. Our Legacy Society is designed to help people make prayerful estate plans. Would you consider including St. James by-the-Sea in your will? Do you have real property or other highly appreciated assets that you might leave to the church? There are many planned giving vehicles that can result in immediate tax benefits for you, benefit your family now or in the future, and benefit the church in amounts that you may not have thought possible. The last box you can check on the Pledge Card is to include St. James in your estate plans. We encourage you to check that box and contact the church office for more information about that option. |
“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
A Letter from Our Rector, The Rev'd Dr. Mark Hargreaves
Dear Friends,
In this strange year of pandemic, I have been more grateful than ever that so many of us are committed to the stewardship program. Amidst all the uncertainty, our members continue to fulfill the pledges to St. James made at the beginning of the year. In other words, the “pledge income” line in our annual operations budget has remained remarkably consistent. With this constancy and generosity of our members, as well as the skill of our finance team, we have been able to navigate our way through the turmoil of the current situation and retain a high degree of financial stability. In fact, we have done more than that -- we have been able to increase our giving to churches who are less fortunate than us. I am very aware that this pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on some communities. God has indeed been good to us, and we are sharing His benevolence with our brothers and sisters. As we have taken the stewardship theme of bringing our light to others, this is timely. We are able to help others and bring light while being well grounded as a parish together in God. Even though we’ve seen each other less in person through the months of the pandemic, we have not reduced our programs and sharing God’s light. We provide programs for formation, music, children, and art, as well as outreach programs to support the hungry, the homeless, military families, refugees and orphan assistance – all to the extent possible given current health guidelines. As a parish, we may be redirected but we are not inactive. God’s light is still shining brightly and your committed pledges have made this possible. And so we come to look ahead to 2021. Whilst we will all be delighted to bid good riddance to 2020, 2021 will have challenges of its own. One important challenge for our parish will be to balance our operating budget. We already know some sources of our income will be lower -- there is less income flowing in from rentals, and weekly collections are down without our regular services (and particularly the big festival services). Additionally, some expenses are higher than before, such as the efforts expended to provide weekly on-line services for members who cannot attend in person. Perhaps even more significantly, the disruption to parish life means that whilst we will lose a number of our faithful givers in 2021 for the usual variety of reasons, we will be hampered in our efforts to welcome new parishioners at the rates we normally do. I am very mindful that the first Sunday we shut down in March was the Sunday we had planned the first newcomers event of the year, with over 40 people due to attend. Therefore, in addition to asking you to renew your pledge in 2021, for the first time since I arrived at St James, I am also inviting you to consider a small percentage increase in the amount you pledge. As is the case in so many scriptural examples, the Lord can work miracles with little. If you can spare something extra next year, we know great things may be accomplished! Let your light shine for others – at St. James we will shine for God together. 
The Rev’d Dr. Mark Hargreaves, Rector
P.S. There is other good news to share, in this case about the capital campaign for our new organ. Construction of the instrument has begun at the Parsons factory in New York. Enough donations have been received to see the project well-launched. Those interested in contributing to the organ project would be welcome to visit the St James website: www.stjamesorgan.com |