administration
The purposes of the Administration Committee are to help us manage our resources effectively (personnel, property, and finances) and to help the congregation be good stewards of all the gifts with which God has blessed us.
finance & stewardship
2021 Stewardship campaign
You can download your 2021 Pledge Card here.
| 2021_pledge_card.pdf |
A Note from the Finance & Stewardship Mission Team
October 27, 2020
Dear Members and Friends of Peace:
The year of 2020 has been anything but normal. We have faced innumerable challenges as a congregation with the COVID pandemic. As we move towards the end of the year, it is time for us to consider our financial plans for 2021.
But we need to begin this Stewardship season with recognition and celebration!
Stewardship is about so much more than pledging and tithing to the annual operating budget of the church. It includes the commitment of time and energy to the work of the church, in mission, outreach, and education, as well as the operation of the church on a day to day basis. Many folks have stepped up as we have completely re-thought how to conduct worship: virtual services provided through technology we have never used in the past; in person services conducted outside, under the Peace Oak; Zoom meetings of Session and weekly discussions of our faithful response to the consequences of the pandemic. Folks reaching out to our vulnerable members in need of contact as they remain isolated in their homes. We need to celebrate the donation of time and talent for the continuation of our monthly shelter meals, and our mowing and yard teams.
Expenses for the operation of the church have continued as we pay salaries, the mortgage, utilities, upkeep and other necessary costs. There have been some reductions as a consequence of the limited use of the church facility and the cessation of the activities of many of our committees. Despite the pandemic, all of you have remained faithful in your payment of your pledges to the operational costs of the church, and we anticipate ending the year in the black. As we begin the move back indoors for worship and anticipate returning to a different “normal” for our congregational activities, we face the task of determining our future operational needs. Our budget total has been the same since 2018, and Session is committed to adopting a budget that does not exceed this amount.
You will receive pledge cards either by mail or as an attachment to an email. Copies of the 2020 budget are available from the office. We offer an online option for the payment of pledges and tithes through the Presbyterian Foundation for those interested in an automatic payment arrangement. The church is charged a 2% fee of each amount paid, so please consider adding this 2% to your gift. (For a payment of $100, this would be $2.00).
Pledge Sunday will be November 8th but you can return your pledge card at any time, to the office or in the offering jar.
Please remember to celebrate what we are doing and commit to continuing our mission.
Grace and Peace,
Finance and Stewardship Mission Team
A Letter from the Pastor
Dear Friends,
If there is one thing this pandemic has taught us it is to consider what we value the most. Is it our relationships with each other and with God, or is it the things we possess? In the past several months we have been forced to consider the essence of who we are and who God calls us to be.
The early church considered these issues as they faced similar conflicts and struggles to survive – not from a pandemic but from the threat of death at the hands of the Roman Empire. And this is how they responded, according to the Book of Acts:
“Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
They had glad and generous hearts. They recognized God’s blessings to them in the midst of adversity and responded with praise, thanksgiving, and a heart for giving.
November is the season in the life of the church when we are invited to consider how we will support the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ in our world today through our giving to the church of Jesus Christ. We hear the word “stewardship” a lot during this time of year. Jesus has more to say about money than any other single topic in the gospels. He understood the danger of money’s lure – how easily it becomes the god we worship. Jesus was concerned that we put God, and only God, first in our lives. The way we use our resources (money in and of itself is not the problem) is reflective of our relationship with God and with other people.
Stewardship is not only, or even primarily, about giving to the church to meet a proposed budget. Stewardship, by definition, is sharing from generous hearts what resources God has entrusted to our care with an attitude of gratitude. It is not how much we give that matters, but that we give to the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ.
The Session of Peace Presbyterian Church will begin the process of establishing a budget for our ministry together in 2021. They want to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to the care of our church. Please prayerfully consider what God has done and is continuing to do in your life and how you might give out of your sense of gratitude for God’s many blessings to you.
With gratitude for each of you and the gifts you share,
Pastor Debbie