Gifts & Memorials
Parishioners, families, and friends make gifts to St. Paul's. Sometimes these gifts are made in memory of a loved one, to support a particular need, or to honor an individual or special occasion. The Gifts & Memorials Committee meets throughout the year to account for these gifts and memorials, send acknowledgments to donors, and make disbursements when requested. An important responsibility of the Committee is to be sure any expenditure honors the intention of the donor even though sometimes a gift is not designated to any particular need; it is simply a gift to the church.

Would you like to make a gift to the church in honor or memory of a loved one? Your gift can be designated to a particular fund like Music, our Chapel, or the Godly Play program for children. However, gifts do not have to be designated. Undesignated gifts are added together to fund special projects at St. Paul's that are outside of our operating budget. Some of these projects have included improvements made to the Fellowship House, vestments for clergy, or improvements to our grounds.

If you have questions about the Gifts and Memorials Fund, please contact the Parish Office, 934-2324.

Stewardship
The purpose of the Stewardship Ministry is to transform parish members' behaviors and attitudes about giving, in ways that giving becomes sacramental and enriches and deepens their faith. Stewardship is, at its heart, a reflection of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

So in real life, what does that mean?

Each of us has different degrees of connection with Jesus at different times of our lives, and different understandings about what our responsibilities are. Our stewardship efforts are directed to helping each person understand where they are in this journey, and to facilitate deepening the connection with Jesus. That's not only in giving, it's in study and reflection on God's word.

For example, when we were children, we loved Jesus, but our ability to understand and respond was limited. As we grew older, we found that Jesus was asking for a response-more than just saying, "I love you, Jesus." And in turn, we became more able to understand his response.

We grow in Jesus Christ through our relationships with others in the parish, or by prayer, or by encountering the gospel. Our stewardship ministry is all about finding ways to facilitate this growth. As such, we will support your efforts to find ways to invest your time and talent in St. Paul's programs, in addition to financial gifts. St. Paul's has an abundance of ministries which support the life of the parish, and in which a parish member can employ their time and talents. St. Paul's also confirms that our standard of financial giving is the biblical standard-the tithe.

If you would like to discuss this further, feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.