St. Demetrios Church ~ Stewardship 2009

"Let us commit ourselves and one another and

our whole life to Christ our God."

Stewardship Update  May/June 2009

The Paschal season has brought out the best in our Stewards.  From church participation to event planning and contributions, we are blessed to have such a wonderful group of stewards in our parish. Financially we continue to march toward our goals but are still quite a ways from achieving them. While we have not counted all the contributions from Pascha yet, we can report the following statistics:

We have received pledges from 362 stewards totaling $322,762.

Of that we have collected $125,294.  In addition we have received 99 unpledged contributions totaling $24,880.  Please remember to send in your pledge cards, as you will not be able to vote in the upcoming special General Assembly meeting if we have no record of intent to pledge for 2009.

As a reminder, we do accept credit cards for payment and will be mailing forms for this with the next statements, due out in May. With financial uncertainties in these economic times, it can be difficult for us to make commitments.

Unfortunately, while we keep tight tabs on the church's expenses, they nonetheless continue and have to be shouldered by all of us.  Please remember your church when you consider other expenses in your  personal budgets. And remember, stewardship also encompasses our time and talent.

GIVE A GIFT TO CHRIST THIS CHRISTMAS

After you read the following story, think about what you would like to give Christ as a gift on His birthday.

Your gift should be something that your family can participate in by offering their time, talents, and treasure.
Three Wise Men, led by a star, went to
worship the Baby of Bethlehem, and
gave Him, as gifts, gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. They say there was another
Wise Man, called Artaban. He was to
meet the Three Wise Men in Babylon
and then start together the journey to
find and worship the Newborn Baby.
Artaban sold all his possessions, bought three jewels, a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl, to present to the Baby, and he set out to join the other three Wise Men. On his way, Artaban saw an unknown injured man, and stopped to help him. To do this, he had to sell his sapphire.
Because of this, he was delayed. So
when he reached Babylon, he found that
the other three Men had already
departed. He set out alone again. But,
when he arrived in Bethlehem, he found
that the three Wise Men had come and
gone, and that Joseph of Nazareth and
his family had fled to Egypt.
"I will leave immediately for Egypt to
worship the new King," exclaimed
Artaban. But, at this point, a solider
came to slay a woman's child on orders
from Herod. Artaban gave the soldier his ruby and the infant's life was saved. He then hurried to Egypt, where he wandered in vain, searching for the
King. Old and weary, after 33 years,
Artaban finds himself in Jerusalem.
Then he learns that a so-called King of
Israel was to be crucified that very day.
There upon he determines to ransom
Him with his pearl.But, on his way to Golgotha, Artaban was stopped by a young girl who was being dragged off by two brutal soldiers. He gave them his last jewel, the pearl, to the soldiers to save her, instead.
When a little later, Jesus was dying on
the cross, Artaban realized that he could neither ransom Him nor pay tribute to Him, as it was too late and as he did not have any jewels left. Artaban collapsed from sorrow, but when he was lying face down he heard a soft voice, saying: "I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me food and drink; I was naked and sick and you clothed me and visited me."
"Not so, my King," protested Artaban.
"Thirty-three years I have looked for
You, but I have never seen Your Face,
not served You, my Lord." But the voice
replied: "Whatever you have done unto
one of the least of these my brothers,
you have done it to me."
Taken from Lovely Little Stories by
Metropolitan G. Polizoides.

2009 Stewardship Presentation by

Mr. Dean Coclin, Chairman, Stewardship Committee

St. Demetrios Church, Stewardship Sunday, December 7, 2008      

Father Nick, Father Alex, Fellow Stewards,

It seems that you can’t open the newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing bad news: Job Layoffs, the stock market plunging, bank closures and bailouts, portfolios decimated, college funds eradicated, planned retirements postponed, a global economic slowdown, manufacturers facing bankruptcy…the list goes on.  Phenomenal events that most of us have never experienced to this degree.  You might ask yourself, how could it get worse?

Well all you have to do is ask one of our seniors that were alive during the Great Depression. They will tell you about people lined up for food, stretching around the block; about banks closing daily, about not being able to provide for your family because suddenly  all your money was gone. And about a general fear that permeated all aspects of life. This occurred right after a period of great prosperity, much like we have experienced in the last decade.

Sounds scary, yes. Yet even this really isn’t that bad. Let’s put this into perspective: What if you went to the doctor today, had an exam and were told you have cancer, or emphysema, or some other life threatening disease? Suddenly things are put into a very different perspective. All the things I just mentioned are no longer that important. You suddenly change from watching your money, to watching the hands of a clock.

Yet in all these scenarios, whether they be financial or health related, there is one constant in our lives. It’s not our job, our schools, our clubs or our groups. All those things come and go. No my friends, it is God and our Church! While all these other things are occurring in our lives, our Church is here for us. She offers us a welcome retreat from the good and bad around us. Like a ship at sea during a storm, the Church is the lighthouse we seek. It is stable, welcoming, illuminating and always there for us.

But how does this occur? Is it magic that we have a vibrant parish with faithful parishioners? Of course not. It’s all made possible by you, our stewards. Your contributions of time, talent and treasures are what make this place what it is.  Without your participation, there would be no clothing and food drives, educational and outreach programs, family and festive events, or energetic youth programs. And now more than ever, in the face of difficult financial times, the church needs your support.

When difficult time are upon us, we tend to retreat from life itself by stopping spending, minimizing activities and “hunkering” down. Seems like the logical thing to do.  We pare back things that we might consider to be luxuries or non essential. Maybe things like gourmet coffee, special cable channels, club memberships and eating out. We turn our thermostats even lower and drive less.  These things make sense. But should we decrease our participation and free will giving to our church?

The theme for today is “Putting God First”. Not just in terms of our pocketbooks, but in our thoughts, our daily lives and our commitment to Him. I asked my Grandmother (who by the way, just turned 103) what her thoughts were on life. Her response was quick: Íá âáëåéó ôïí Èåïí ðñïôá óôéí æùç óïõ. Íá ôïí èåéìáóôå êáèå çìåñá, meaning, put God first in your life and remember Him every day.

Let’s put this into perspective with the macroeconomic climate we are currently facing. We said earlier that it makes sense to cut back on certain things in our lives.  But does it make sense to reduce our commitment to God? If we want our Parish to continue being that “lighthouse” in our lives, we need to support it in the face of increasing expenses, an economic downturn and the coming uncertainties.

Does it make sense to pay more in monthly cable fees than we contribute in Stewardship? Does it make sense to pay membership fees to clubs, or have daily coffee expenses that exceed our annual Stewardship pledge?  Have we re-evaluated our pledge year to year in light of our Parish’s increased expenses, or do we still just put a dollar bill in the tray, just like we did in 1970?

We have a “thermometer” posted outside the narthex of our year to date Stewardship financial activity. If the church were a patient, judging by this thermometer, she would be in intensive care. Pledge activity has fallen off from last year. Collections, while increasing lately, are also behind the prior year’s amount. Our experience is that we receive many contributions in December and I am hopeful this year will be no different. By now, you have received your 2009 pledge cards. If you haven’t filled them out yet, consider the eight degrees of giving described by Maimonides, a 12^th century Hebrew theologian and physician:

1^st: give with reluctance or regret. This is the gift of the hand, not the heart

2^nd: give cheerfully, but not proportionately, to the distress of the sufferer

3^rd: give cheerfully and proportionately, but not until we are solicited

4^th: give cheerfully and proportionately, and even unsolicited, but to put it in the poor man’s hand thereby exciting in him the painful emotion of shame

5^th: give charity in such a way that the distressed may receive the bounty and know their benefactor, without their being known to him

6^th: know the object of our bounty, but remain unknown to him

7^th: bestow charity in such a way that the benefactor may not know the relieved persons, or they the names of their benefactor

8^th: to anticipate charity by preventing poverty, namely, to assist the reduced brother, either by a considerable gift or a loan of money, or by teaching him a trade, or by putting him in the way of business so that he may earn an honest livelihood and not be forced to the dreadful alternative of holding up his hand for charity. This is the highest step and the summit of charity’s Golden Ladder.

Ask yourself, Where do we sit upon this ladder?

If you leave with nothing else today, leave with this message:  no matter what happens around you, the church will be here for you. Please continue to support it. Move your pledge up to the next category if possible. Spend some time volunteering for events and committees. Bring your children to church events. Think about what is really important in your lives. The answer is looking down right at you.

Come and spend some time with us at the Stewardship Brunch today.  I guarantee you will find fellowship, camaraderie, and no one will ask you for even a penny.

Thank You.