A Letter from the Vestry about the 2024 Stewardship Campaign: Rooted in Abundance.

October 2023

Friends,

Rooted in Abundance. The theme of this year’s stewardship campaign reminds us that we are rooted in God’s love and grace, and that we give our time and financial support out of that abundant grace to nurture and grow our community at St. Francis Episcopal Parish & Community Center as thanksgiving to God.

By committing to give this year to St. Francis, you are committing to growing and nurturing all that St. Francis is and does. Worship and music, Welcome Table Wednesdays, Sunday School and Youth Group, ministries of welcome and hospitality, food ministry, the facilities and grounds where we gather and worship and celebrate together, ministry to the sick, dying and grieving - all that we value and hold dear as a community of faith. None of it is possible without your active participation and financial support.

Some of you are well-versed in the practice of stewardship; others may not have ever heard the word. As your Vestry - this year’s Stewardship Team - we invite each one of you into a prayerful reflection on stewardship - how you will use your resources to invest in your parish and community center for 2024.

Your participation and your financial commitment of any size to St. Francis is essential. As a new community, St. Francis is like a small shoot reaching out from its seed and finding the sunlight. As a new community, we must build up our capacity to participate in and fund our ministries. While we currently are blessed to have access to investment funds that provide significant support of our staff, ministries, buildings and grounds, we must also build for the future with a strong base of annual giving so that St. Francis can thrive for many years to come, even after the St. Francis Mission and Growth Funds are largely depleted.

Many of you already give regularly, some electronically. If you do, thank you! We ask that you still return a physical pledge card or make your pledge electronically at the link above. 10% of your annual pledge to the Operating Fund goes to the St. Francis Mission Fund, which, along with the Growth Fund, currently supports the positions of Assistant Rector and Community Organizer.

This year, as you pray about your commitment to St. Francis, please tap into that nourishing structure of faith and generosity shown to us by an extravagant God, a patient Shepherd, and a gathering Spirit who together call us to share our gifts with the world. When each of us are rooted in this abundance, we realize that our giving can be as boundless as the Creation. Thank you for your generosity and your prayerful consideration of your pledge to St. Francis.

In gratitude,

The Vestry of St. Francis Episcopal Parish & Community Center

Mary Brooks
Terry Brown
Karen Engstrom
Bill Gammon
Susana Gould
Barb Lewis
Dianna Morgan
Jennifer Ray
Jose Sanabria
Vicki Sappe
Jason Zielke