Dear St. Michael’s,
I’m writing to ask your your help: the church needs you to help to finish the year in good financial standing. Are you able to give a little extra here at the end of the year to make sure we finish the year strongly? You can access the online giving portal here: https://www.stmichaelsbarrington.org/give
Likewise, if you have not submitted your 2024 pledge, please do so- our 2024 budget preparation is underway, and the cost of maintaining our ministries and facilities has increased thanks to cost of living and inflation. I need your help to keep St. Michael’s in a financially sustainable position so we can continue the energy and new growth we have been seeing in our parish. https://www.stmichaelsbarrington.org/events/stewardship-campaign
St. Micheal’s has consistently defied my expectations when it comes to the end of the year generosity. Year after year, I get a little worried about “spending more than we take in,” and year after year you rise to the occasion and help us fulfill our yearly commitments and obligations. This year, however, it feels a little tighter than normal, if I am honest. If you can fulfill your pledge, or even go a little beyond it for 2023, it would make a huge impact. 87% of our budget income comes from generous people, pledges, and offering! Any gift makes a big impact.
This year has brought its challenges, and you will see them show up again next year: the cost of just doing what we do has gone up over the past year or two (and I don’t want to just do simply what we’ve always done- that’s just maintenance!). This increase is not really a surprise: if you go to the grocery store, you know that the checkout register takes more than it used to. If you have a gas and electric bill, you know they are higher now than they were. If you have employees at your business, or receive a paycheck yourself, you know that costs and benefits for employees has gone up also. St. Michael’s is not immune to these increases.
Stewardship was just one focus among many this fall: from celebrating our 75th anniversary, praying together at the amazing All Souls’ service, burying some beloved members of our church, and having some amazing Sunday worship services that continue to attract new faces. And yet the church needs you as much as it ever has! We need you to make sure we can keep the lights on and the building warm to continue this holy work here at St. Michael’s. If you have not, or if you would like to increase your 2024 pledge, you can do so here: https://www.stmichaelsbarrington.org/events/stewardship-campaign
Thank you all for your generosity, and thank you even more for your joy and your commitment to this parish this year and all of the years before. St. Michael’s is what we make it, so let’s make it even better.
God bless,
Jesse+
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