St Pauls Episcopal Church, Fairfield, CT

Donating to St. Paul's

Please download the
pledge card now!

You can mail, fax or e-mail your
2007 pledge to us.
Thank you!

2007 EVERY MEMBER
CANVASS UPDATE

Our annual appeal to all parishioners to support the mission and ministry of St. Paul’s with pledges of their time, talent, and treasure continues in full swing. To date, some 171 households have responded. This represents 44% of the households on our membership rolls (60% of households we consider active ones). These pledges of time and talent make our outreach to the community possible. These financial pledges of $278,101 will fund about 69% of our 2007 operating budget that is based on pledges.

Especially exciting news is that a majority of pledgers have increased their pledges as compared to last year – a trend that must continue if we are to pay for the programs that make St. Paul’s so appealing.

Thank you to those who have pledged. And if you have not yet pledged, please consider making a pledge in proportion to the time, talent and treasure that your household is blessed with. May you find joy in knowing that your commitment brings your spirituality to life by empowering St. Paul’s to bring the light of Christ to our community and to the world.

If you did not receive or have misplaced your pledge card, extra copies are available at the entrances to the church. As a special encouragement to new members, two special gifts totaling $10,500 will match their pledges.

—Every Member Canvass Committee

AVENUES TO MINISTRY . . .
STEWARDSHIP of TIME and EFFORT at ST. PAUL’S

In addition to the 2007pledge card, please take a minute to fill out the attached
AVENUES TO MINISTRY sheet. Simply check boxes to show where you/your
household are already giving time, and where you would like to offer time.

Please return the completed checklist to the parish office. Thank you!

St. Paul's Treasures

Thanks to our recent Great Parish Tag Sale and our E-Bay connection, St. Paul’s has received over $2000 for items sold so far. A picture went for $460 on E-Bay, a couch brought $250, a sailboat, $350, and air conditioners, $250. We are now going for the GOLD! Do you have any jewelry you no longer wear, such as a single earring or bracelet that you have not worn in ages? Let’s make St. Paul’s truly a “melting pot”. Any item that has been collecting dust at home that has a value of over $50, we can sell on E-Bay and would love to receive. Please contact Kevin Westberg with any donations, or email him, erwest@optonline.net, or bring them to the church office. The proceeds help close that Gap you’ve been hearing about, and helps keep the St. Paul’s we love thriving. Every little bit helps.

Grocery Gift Card Rewards Program

Our Grocery Card Reward Program has now completed one year and due to the support of our parishioners, we are pleased to announce that St. Paul’s has been the recipient of $10,000! We greatly appreciate all who have contributed to making this program such a success. Keep up the good work! Remember, you get 100% of the card’s value, and St. Paul’s gets 5%. You can pick up cards any day of the week if you call Kevin first to make arrangements. If you are new to St. Paul's and would like to know more of how the program works, please call Kevin Westberg at Meta Politi and David Cox will be covering the 8:00 service, Brian Augustyn will be covering the beach service at 8:30, and Dennis Pryor will be covering the 10:00 service.

"Jesus gave us two commandments:

Love the Lord, and love each other.
Think about how we express love, and you soon
realize we express love by giving.
Parsimony of one's time, talent, or money is bad for the
soul, while generosity feeds the soul.
That's why my favorite ministry is stewardship.
It keeps my own soul from shrinking, and helps me
do my part to spread the good news.

Love is an action verb." --- PJ, A St. Paul's Parishioner

Ministry of Reconciliation
The mission or purpose of all churches “is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” This is how our Book of Common Prayer (p. 855) defines the exalted and vital point of our existence as a parish. This is what St. Paul, our patron Saint, calls the “ministry of reconciliation” in his Second Letter to the Corinthians (5: 17-20). This ministry of reconciliation is made possible in two ways at St. Paul’s. Both ways are vitally important:

• Through volunteer efforts- please go to Getting Involved for more about volunteering as a ministry.

• Through the donation of money or other gifts that support parish worship, teaching, and volunteer service in and beyond the parish.

Monetary donations
• support the work of the staff who lead and administer programs;
• maintain the buildings and instruments, such as the organ and pianos, that house, support and enhance our worship and education programs, and pay the utility and other bills;
• provide resources for volunteers to carry out parish ministry;
• provide direct support for people who need food, clothing, housing, and other practical assistance.

Supporting The Ministry of St. Paul’s Church

Click here to view the Path of Life Epistle in PDF format

How can I contribute?
• By volunteering your time. Just contact the clergy or one of the program leaders directly by going to the “Avenues to Ministry” page for detailed information

• By making a monetary donation to the parish. Checks may be sent to
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
661 Old Post Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
Annotate the “memo” line of the check to indicate any special purpose toward which you would like your contribution to go.

• By making a donation of stock or other financial instruments. In this case, please let the parish office know of any forthcoming transaction, so that we can properly acknowledge your gift. You will need to give your broker the following information:

• By naming “St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 661 Old Post Road, Fairfield, Connecticut” in your will
• As a direct cash beneficiary
• As a residual or contingency beneficiary
• As a beneficiary of an insurance or annuity policy
• As a beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust or other instrument. The Rector will be happy to assist you in carrying out any or all of these plans. It is advisable that you consult a lawyer and/or financial adviser also in making such plans.

The following tables show how

Money Is Translated into Ministry—
How our Mission Comes to Life

Our Mission Statement:
St. Paul’s is a nurturing parish, and we welcome everyone in the name of
Christ. We are dedicated to growing spiritually and to sharing Christ’s
love through inspiring worship, lively fellowship, and joyful service to
the community.

Where the money comes from:
• Pledges—parishioner & friends’ support 70% of total budget
• Income from endowment 13%
• Plate offerings, donation from
Nursery School, fundraisers 15%
• Other misc. income, rounding 2%

Where the money goes:
• Clergy compensation (55-hr avg. work week) 30% of total budget
• Program staff compensation (full & part time) 30%
• Administrative staff compensation (full & part time) 17%
• Outreach—local, diocesan, worldwide 13%
• Sexton compensation, utilities, building upkeep 8%
• Misc. expenses, rounding 2%

Blessings to you as you consider this step in Christian faith and growth.
We look forward to talking with you in person about your thoughts.

The Mary Anne Osborn, Associate Rector
The Rev. Bennett Brockman, Rector

To make a pledge or one-time contribution of financial support to the parish, you may send a check to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 661 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824, or
E-mail your pledge intentions (please be sure to include your full name and your address to St. Paul’s accounts manager, Cathy Comstock, at ccomstock@stpaulsfairfield.org

Thank you, and God bless you for sharing in our efforts toward bringing God’s realm of light, love, peace, and justice to this time and place.

Thanks and blessings to all,

Ben

A spiritual practice
In 10 easy (and not so easy) steps

Like most things spiritual, stewardship as a spiritual practice is paradoxical.
It is very easy, and very difficult. Here’s how it’s easy:

1. Take a deep breath. And take another. And another for good measure.

2. Notice how much you paid for them.

3. Consider your personality; your intelligence; your health and ability to work; the country of your residence; the education you received; your family and network of friends; your life itself.

4. Ponder the extent to which these good things have been gifts to you.

Now it gets harder.

5. Consider that David, the great king of ancient Israel, may have been right when he thought about these things and said, “All things come from you, O Lord”; and that we really mean it when we sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

6. Imagine that gratitude is the appropriate response to sunlight in the morning and rain when it has been dry as well as to “the love which from our birth over and around us lies” … and to all the gifts like those mentioned in step three.

7. Imagine that it’s possible to express gratitude to God, who creates life in its boundless array, and that the Church in its long history has found two imminently practical ways of doing so—

a. Through worship

b. Through working together with God—literally becoming God’s “fellow-workers” (I Cor. 3:9) in the mission of the Church, which is “to restore all things to unity with God and each other in Christ” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 855), by giving money, talent and time to the Church.

8. Imagine that it liberates and brings great joy to worship God in gratitude, and to work together with God for the re-creation of the world.

And now the hardest part of all. This is really scary.

9. Directly confront the voice that says, “You will never have enough. Jesus can’t really be believed when he says, ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things [food, clothing and shelter]. But strive first for the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’” (Matt. 6:31-33).

10. Having confronted that voice, determine to believe Jesus and generously give of your time, talent, and money for the building up of the kingdom of God through the Church.

And, yes, there is a reward. Grace and blessings will be heaped upon everyone who gets through step 10: “God loves a cheerful giver and is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything you may share abundantly in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). That’s what Saint Paul says. And you can count on it.

Faithfully,
Ben

© 2003 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, All Rights Reserved.