What’s the Big Deal About Stewardship?

Well, it is a big deal because this is how we support the Church. We make an annual pledge to support the Church’s programs and ministries. We do so in accordance with our means. We do so commensurate with our faith. If we believe in the work of the Church, we give. If we don’t, we don’t give, or we give nominally. We are pleased to share with you that financial Stewardship pledge income received in 2017 was the highest in recent history. Which means the faith of our parishioners is strong, that you want to see the Cathedral strong and thriving. We are looking forward to a similar and even stronger showing in 2018. As of December 31, 2017, 342 Stewardship units (families, for the most part), sent in their 2017 Stewardship pledge, which amounted to $319,843. for the support of the Cathedral’s ministries. While this amount is essentially only about half of what it takes to keep the Cathedral operating, the level of support is promising. The average pledge amount has increased over recent years and that is a testimony to your commitment. With this level of support, it’s no wonder we exceeded our Stewardship goal for 2017, in the amount of $300,000, and we are looking forward to an even stronger level of support in 2018. We thank you, for you are the Cathedral. God bless you. We had intended to print the names of all of our 2018 stewards to date in this issue of the Herald. However, we will do this for the March issue. We will be doing so as a way of acknowledging your commitment and thanking you for your support. If you know of someone who should be a steward but is not (that is, someone who considers the Annunciation Cathedral to be his or her parish but whose name is not on the honor roll of stewards), speak to that person and stress how important his or her participation is. Help us get the word out. If you prefer to have us contact them, call us and we will be happy to do so. The bottom line is: stewardship is how we get everyone engaged in the work of the church. It’s about RESOURCES (giving money) but, even more importantly, it’s about TIME (coming to church, praying, practicing what it means to be a Greek Orthodox Christian), and it’s about TALENT (helping one another, sharing the gifts that God has given you). So, yes, stewardship is a big deal!