The Stewardship Team convened in January of 2008. Members of the team are Sue Burke, Mike Donahue, Tom Fuelling, Lane Hensley, and Juell Hood with Barbara Barnes as Chair. 

We chose “Equipping Our People for Ministry” as our theme for the year, in keeping with our theology that stewardship is an integral part of our daily Christian life. To highlight the many ways that we engage in stewardship, we identified the ministries exercised here at Church of the Transfiguration.  Each month different ministries are recognized on a poster displayed in the sanctuary.  Information about each area of ministry and who to contact to be involved with the ministry is published in the Transcripts and in the Sunday bulletins.

Our Annual Pledge Drive began in September with a mailing that included a letter from the rector and stewardship chair, a pledge card, a small pamphlet on Christian giving, and an Authorization for Automatic Withdrawal of Funds for those who wished to have their pledge sent directly from their account to the church.  Our second mailing was delivered in early October and included a letter from the Vestry, a short brochure focusing on Gratitude Sunday and parish giving statistics, and another pledge card and automatic withdrawal form.

Throughout October, the Rector preached on the topic of Stewardship and parishioners shared their thoughts on why they are involved at the Church of the Transfiguration and why they make a financial commitment to the church.  We especially appreciate the service of Tom Fuelling and Mike Seleckta, for inspiring us with their messages, and for Margaret Lehner, for so clearly explaining our financial year.  On Gratitude Sunday, many parishioners offered their pledges during the service and pledges continued to come in during the weeks that followed.

Our 2008 Stewardship Campaign resulted in 105 pledges totaling $235,350.  Of the pledging units, 31 increased their pledge over last year, and 12 are new pledges.  The total amount pledged is about $10,000 less than 2007, or 4 % less.   We attribute this difference to the difficult economic times, the affect the economy has had on investment income and job loss, and to the loss of donors who moved for job related reasons.   Our average pledge is about $2,500 per pledging unit.

We give thanks for the generosity of time, talent, and treasure from all in the parish.  We are thankful for the support of the Vestry, our Rector, Lane, our Treasurer, Margaret Lehner, and the Finance Committee. And a special thanks goes to the members of the Stewardship Team for their efforts in this campaign.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara J. Barnes
On Behalf of the Stewardship Team