What an exciting last month we had! We began and ended the month by gathering around the dinner table for a Dine and Donate event at Liberty Union and again for the wonderful Adult Dinner party where we broke bread and shared wine in our own Upper Hall. Plus let’s not forget the annual Chicken BBQ where we prepared 200 dinners for the congregation and the local community. These are just a few of the special events we put on throughout the year, and we have several more events coming in the next few months. In addition to all these fun fellowship events, we also have had a robust Children’s Educational year under the guidance of Kristy Campagna complete with an ongoing Confirmation class and the pending Christmas activities for the kids. Our other ministries have also been busy at work maintaining the programs and services you have come to expect at St. Andrew’s.
I could go on and on about the things St. Andrew’s offers throughout the year, but I will save that for the Family Meeting we will hold on November 12th . For those who may not be familiar with this annual event, this is where we gather as a congregation to discuss the various events, programs, and initiatives we accomplished in the last year and compare that to the 2023 budget. Then we will transition to a lookahead of the coming year and forecast the budget accordingly to guide our 2024 pledge goals. This “State of the Church” meeting is an open forum to ensure we are providing the programs you are looking for and to have an honest conversation about what the funding looks like for us to be the church we want to be.
Pledging: What does that mean? Simply put, the pledge you provide on our St. Andrew’s Day of Joyful Giving (November 26th) is a promise to give, or tithe, the amount of money your family feels is right for you in the coming year. The total pledge amount is compared side by side with the budget set for that year and we can forecast meeting that budget or running in a deficit. Like any household, we don’t want to run a deficit since that erodes the funds put away in past years to carry us through lean years. I think we are a very healthy church that does not need to run a deficit, so the Family Meeting will help inform us on how much we would need to pledge in order to break even at year’s end. We’re not that far off but could use a little more support to meet the budget and I am confident we can do it!
Enough of the money talk, what I want to hear at the Family Meeting is how you think we are doing and what you want to see changed for next year to earn your valued support. The most important aspect of St. Andrew’s is you, so let’s be the church we want to be.
God Bless,
Jeff Herrera
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