A Welcome Letter to the Season of Giving Thanks, St. Julian's Fall Stewardship Program:
October 21, 2024
Dear St. Julian's Family:
Last Sunday, October 20th, St. Julian's began our annual "Season of Giving Thanks". As a reminder, the "Season of Giving Thanks" is a time for each of us to call to mind and give thanks to God for the many blessings in our lives. And, then, consider how that gratitude might overflow into making specific commitments of prayer, time, talent, and financial resources to further God in Christ’s mission and ministry in and through St. Julian's in the coming year.
Throughout the season, you will hear from various participants in our community about how they are blessed by St. Julian's and, further, how the choice to share from their own abundance to support our shared ministry leads to their own spiritual growth and wellbeing. Additionally, there will be opportunities during “Open Space” to count our blessings each week and watch them grow throughout the season. We hope these experiences, among other offerings during the season, will lead us to consider, again, how we might allow the love of God in our lives to overflow in acts of generosity toward our church and those in need beyond our own walls.
The "Season of Giving Thanks" will culminate with two events. The first is a preview of the 2025 Budget and a Reflection on Giving during regular adult Christian Education, Nov 10th at 10:20 AM. Please plan to join us in-person or on Zoom to hear how the 2025 budget is shaping up and how that might inform your own giving. The second are our annual In-Gathering Services and Thanksgiving Meal on Sunday, Nov 17th. We will have our regular two services that morning (9 and 11:15 AM) to accommodate our growing attendance on Sunday mornings. So, our community meal will be between services for fellowship and in thanksgiving for the generosity represented in the pledges we are each making (about 10:10 AM). Please plan to remain or come early for the meal depending on which service you regularly attend. As in the past, we will provide the main course (breakfast tacos) and invite you to bring a brunch-y side to share (buffet will be in the gathering room).
For those new to St. Julian’s, In-Gathering Sunday (again, Nov 17th, this year) is the day we make our pledge of prayer, time, talent and financial resources for the year to come during and as an act of worship (if not completed/turned in before that date). The purpose of setting aside a particular Sunday for “gathering in” our pledges serves two purposes. First, it provides a timeline for each of us to complete and turn in our pledge. I know we all lead busy lives, and we hope a specific date is simply a helpful reminder to complete this important task. Further, a specific date for receiving pledges allows our leadership the time needed to complete a final operating budget for 2025 before the current year ends, as the greatest income driver for that budget is, indeed, our pledges. Second, we believe that it is important to mark and celebrate together the sacrificial gifts being made by our community and commend them in prayer and worship to God’s work through St. Julian’s…for the very life of the world!
Having said that, you are very welcome to turn your pledge in that day or any time before as is most convenient for you and yours (many already are). Pledge cards can be completed in one of two ways. They can be completed online (click here or see link below). Or, you are welcome to take a “paper” pledge card from church or print one (click here or see link below), complete it by hand, put it in an envelope, and then place it in the offering basket on any Sunday through the 17th or at the altar at our In-Gathering Services. Pledges can also be mailed to church. Though most now use the online option, we know there is something edifying about completing and signing a card by hand, and it is entirely at your discretion.
We have experienced many blessings in our first 15 years together. We have grown in number from about a dozen folk to nearly 500 adults and children. We have grown in spiritual depth through meaningful worship and Christian Education for all ages. We have developed 20 plus vibrant ministries that serve both those inside our church and those beyond our own walls. In addition to our Vicar (Miles) and two other part time clergy persons (Kelly and Demery), we have added 8 part-time lay ministers to our staff: A Parish Administrator/Bookkeeper, Children's Minister, Youth Ministry Coordinator, Worship Coordinator, Music Minister, Theologian-in-Residence, Wedding/Funeral Coordinator, and Social Media Minister. And, of course, alongside our partner the Diocese of Texas, we have completed our multi-year (really 15 year!) project of raising funds for and building our beautiful new church on the 9-acres of land we own along Brushy Creek Road. In the first 6-weeks in our new church, we have seen a 35% increase in our average Sunday attendance over last fall, welcomed over 60 visitors seeking a church home, and successfully celebrated our first Bishop’s Visit with 12 people being baptized, confirmed or reaffirmed. What a glorious, God-led beginning!
And, though with God’s grace we continue to flourish as a family of faith, we are more dependent on the financial generosity of our community than we ever have been. Though several factors impact this, the largest is our lovely new home. Our new church will allow us to grow numerically and spiritually more and more into the people and place God has created us to be. And, in fact, we are already beginning to experience that growth. However, the new church and specifically our stewardship of the building and land will be significantly more expensive than our previous church. We have new cost centers like keeping our 9-acres landscaped, and previous cost centers are increasing like providing electricity for a building that is twice as big as our previous space. In addition, following Jonathan’s departure, we hope to be able to hire a second full-time ordained person sometime in 2025. In order to accomplish all that sits before us and provide an annual cost of living increase for our hard-working staff, we will need to see an overall increase in giving of about $75,000 year over year.
There are both great opportunities and challenges that stand before us. And, we faithfully believe, with God's ongoing help and the sacrificial commitment of our community, that we can and will continue to grow in number, spiritual depth, and financial wellness. We can and will continue to be a servant leader in the community and world around us, including, in our partnerships with Foundation Communities and the Episcopal Diocese of Navajoland. And, we can and will continue to be a bright light of hope and profound expression of God’s love for our own lives, our family’s lives, and our neighbors.
Attached below is an "FAQ" about stewardship and the “Season of Giving Thanks” at St. Julian's. It includes helpful information about things like the biblical anchors for Christian stewardship and facts like our average annual pledge, as a place to consider your own commitment for 2025. We hope it is a helpful resource. Additionally, attached below are links to our online and “paper” Pledge Cards, which we hope you will, again, submit at or before our In-Gathering Services on Sunday, November 17th.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We are so grateful for our shared life and ministry and so thankful for all the prayer, time, talent, and financial resources you have already so generously given. We are the beloved family of faith we have become, now in our new church home, in large measure through your ongoing and profound generosity. If you have any questions about the “Season of Giving Thanks” at St. Julian's or your own giving, please feel free to contact either of us. We hope this reaches you and yours as well as possible.
Peace and Warm Friendship,
The Rev. Miles R. Brandon, II, Vicar
with
Steve Read, Stewardship Ministry Chair