Stewardship Letter
My son, Parks, is five years old and attends preschool here at Elizabeth Wayne. He started classes in September and since then he’s been telling Todd and me about being a “bucket filler”, which means that when he is kind to others, it makes them feel good. When we fill someone else’s bucket, it also makes us feel good. His teachers sent a letter to the parents last week informing us that all the kids’ buckets had been emptied because they had a very rough week and needed a reset. Parks was distraught; his bucket had been filled with his favorite-colored pompoms and he was so sad to lose them. Todd and I both, unknowingly, had the same talk with Parks about how easy it is to refill both your bucket and that of others, and how we knew he’d be able to get his pompoms back. It’s simple, just love your neighbor. Outreach at St. Paul’s is my bucket filler.
Jesus’ mission was to help the disadvantaged. To love the unloved. To show compassion and take action. We do that at St. Paul’s through outreach. One of our most visible outreach ministries is Elizabeth Wayne Preschool. We’re also a big part of the Under One Roof Food Pantry. Paul helps those in financial need through the Almoners Fund. We’ve been helping to support families in Ukraine each year. St. Paul’s is a vehicle for outreach work and there are varying ways people choose to be involved, gifting their time, talents, and treasure.
Ultimately, this is the purpose of the church, to take God’s love out into the world. St Paul’s can do that much more effectively if we are not constantly in a position of financial strain. We are often so focused on finding the funding just for staff and operations that there is little mental capacity left for outreach, a vital work of the church. This is one reason the Stewardship Campaign is crucial for St. Paul’s. If we are forced to begin cutting expenses because we have not increased pledges, we aren’t able to cut utilities or repairs and maintenance on the building,
and we surely do not want to make staffing cuts. If we cut staff, we lose the vitality of the church, which is essential in keeping ourselves engaged and active. When it comes to outreach, the concern with the budget is focused around the loss of support. When we cut personnel expenses, it means parishioners now carry those loads rather than being able to focus on mission work; all our time and talent is exhausted just to keep the building running. It is exceedingly difficult for a church to do the good work of outreach when they are constantly inward-focused.
As I said to Parks, it’s easy to be a bucket filler. It’s easy to love your neighbor. I urge you to think about outreach and the impact we have on our neighbors, through doing the work of Jesus, when you are prayerfully considering your pledge this year.
Jaimie Deye, Junior Warden