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Stewardship FAQs

What is Christian Stewardship?

Christian Stewardship begins with the notion that all of life and its gifts find their source in God. In response to God’s generosity, we faithfully return a portion of that gift to God in the form of time, talent and treasure.

What is a Pledge?

An important way Episcopalians set aside a portion of God’s gifts is through an annual pledge to their parish community. A pledge is a prayerful promise of financial resources that will sustain the parish’s worship, pastoral care, Christian formation, outreach to the community and the bricks and mortar of the church and grounds.

How much should I pledge?

A pledge is a holy thing. The amount is a private matter between you, your family and God. The Church will do its best to annually relate to the entire congregation the financial realities of the parish, trusting you to prayerfully consider how much you can give. Many Christians aspire to tithe, offering ten percent of their income to the Church’s ministry.

What is the tithe?

The tithe is the ancient Israelite custom of dedicating the first ten percent of one’s income to the temple of God. Modern Christians consider the tithe a spiritual discipline of thanksgiving for all that God has given them.

What do most people pledge?

The short answer is: what they can. Every pledge is unique to an individual or family's respective situation. The average pledge for 2018 was $3,700. With an annual budget of approximately $1.1 million, the Redeemer would need 225 pledges of $4,900 each to meet its budgeted operating expenses.

Who will know what I pledge?

To ensure confidentiality, only the Stewardship Campaign Chairs and the Financial Administrator of the parish will know the amount of your pledge. They are the only members of our parish community who will have access to this information. The Rector has chosen not to be privy to parishioner pledge amounts. The Ministry Team, as needed, are able to see the list of individuals and families who have given in the past three years, without amounts. This allows the Ministry Team to have the best sense of regular participation in parish life so that they can budget and plan accordingly.

What does a pledge do?

Pledges generally provide for all ministry costs at the Redeemer. Salaries and benefits for Ministry Team members, program funds for children’s ministries, funds for music and choirs, and adult education offerings are all provided for by your pledges. Redeemer’s endowment provides for the parish’s capital needs projects and much of the building and grounds maintenance. The majority of Outreach funds are provided for annually by the proceeds from the Church Service League’s Christmas Market and Auction.

Don’t we get money from the Diocese?

No, we do not. It is the other way around. Unlike some traditions (e.g. Roman Catholic), we are NOT funded from the top down. In fact, from our annual pledges the Redeemer pays an annual assessment to the Diocese of Massachusetts to support the missions and operations of the whole Episcopal Church throughout the world.

How is a parish’s budget created?

In the autumn of every year, the Treasurers, the Rector and the Ministry Team meet to discuss needs and priorities for the coming fiscal year. A preliminary budget is created and reviewed through the Finance Committee of the Vestry. Finally, the Vestry reviews and approves a final version of the budget at the December Vestry Meeting.

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379 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
PHONE:  617-566-7679
FAX:  617-566-6678
OFFICE: 8:30-4:30 pm M-F | SUMMER:  9:00-3:00 pm M-Th
office@redeemerchestnuthill.org

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