Time, Talent & Treasure. Have you noticed these slides before the service that have highlighted how our members & volunteers helped to give of their time and talents in many different aspects of volunteering this year? Whether it was photos of volunteers gardening on our beautiful grounds, our volunteer teachers and committee members sharing knowledge and guidance with our younger children during the Faith Formation classes, or even the Great Hall filled with members & friends celebrating this year’s Service Auction event – these generous gifts of time and talent are the foundation of what keeps our community vibrant and healthy.
When I first came to the Fellowship, I heard the slogan “Time, Talent & Treasure” – though the word “treasure” seemed like an awkward alliteration to me. My initial reaction to the word “treasure” invokes images of something you lock away (even bury on a remote island), so as not to be shared, and kept for oneself. But the more I thought about it over the years, the more I thought of the use of “Treasure” as a verb – “something kept carefully; a valuable or valued item.” Do we personally treasure what the Fellowship is to us? Do we value what the Fellowship brings to our lives – past, present, and future? And how do we keep what we treasure safe – as we are all stewards of this beloved community?
This year, we kicked off the Annual Budget Drive on April 7th, and continued the drive through April. Our goal is to raise $470,000 in pledges this year.
To date we have raised 95% of our goal!
For those that may be new to the Pledge Drive – this is the time of year when we ask our members & friends to help support the Fellowship with an annual financial pledge. The pledge is part of the commitment we ask of our members to continue in support of our community – and pledges from our friends are greatly appreciated as well, to collectively help sustain the programming we offer to our wider community. Once a year, we ask our members & friends to commit to an annual pledge amount, so that our dedicated Financial Committee can plan our overall budget for the upcoming year. Without pledges, it would be difficult to determine how much funding we will have in the coming year, to ensure that we can pay for the multitude of our expenses – such as fair compensation salaries, upkeep and maintenance of our building & grounds, dues, insurance, and outreach programs (to name just a few).
For those of you who are already aware of our Annual Budget Drive, this year we are asking our previous pledging members to consider increasing their annual pledge by 5% this year- to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living & insurance for our Staff, as well as inflationary expectations for goods & services the Fellowship requires. The Fellowship is sustained primarily by our pledges (roughly 80% of our funding comes from members and friends like you, through our Annual Pledge Drive), so we all truly count on the support of every individual and family.
The Fellowship recommends using the Fair Share Contribution Guide to help you determine your commitment level. If you have previously been pledging – consider revisiting it this year, and reassess whether it’s still the right level for you or if you are ready to move to a deeper level of support.
We ask that you make a written pledge during our April Annual Pledge Drive by either filling out and returning a pledge card at the Fellowship (these are collected by Katy Julich, our office administrator), or by logging into your Realm account and entering your annual pledge in the giving menu (which can even allow you to use automatic monthly payments).
Please consider how the Fellowship has become one of your valued treasures this year. Each of us is considered individually and collectively responsible for resourcing our movement and our congregation. For those of you who have an interest in our past & current Stewardship data, we have published a more in-depth Stewardship Analysis Report for our members & friends towards in April.
Please join us in our continuing adventures – with the collective giving of our Time, Talent & Treasure!
In Fellowship,
Tim Davis
Stewardship Trustee-at-Large