Embracing Joy
2025 Stewardship Campaign
The Stewardship Campaign began this year on Sunday, September 29th at the Parish Forum Kick-Off with Father Brent and Nick Sollog introducing this year’s goals and theme, “Embracing Joy.” If you would like to make a pledge you can mail a pledge card to the Financial Administrator in the Parish Office, drop your pledge card in the offering plate on Sunday morning, or make your pledge online by clicking “Pledge Now” below. Pledge cards are located at the Connect Tables outside of each of our church doors. Thank you to those who have submitted a pledge towards the 2025 parish budget.
Letter from the Priest-in-Charge
A Letter from the Priest-in-Charge
Dear Grace & Holy Trinity Leaders,
While the liturgical year starts on December 1st, in practical terms, October is a month of new beginnings for the church. Our youth enter new grades in school and Christian formation activities, more pews are occupied, and our various ministries gear up, refreshed after a summer break. It’s a new beginning for me as well, and I give thanks to God for this church community welcoming my family and priestly presence into your midst. I hope this September we feel a little more settled than last year.
October is also the church’s “Stewardship Season.” For us, with hope and faith we are moving from a period of anxiety towards a bright and joyful future. This year we are leaning into a stretch goal of a $100,000 increase in pledges. Even with last year’s challenges, your pledge result was $750,000. I believe that a $850,000 goal is a stretch, but totally achievable.
I have been sharing three focus areas of Worship, Accessibility and Outreach for our community. We hope you will consider increasing your pledge to help us reach this stretch goal. If we reach that $850,000 goal, this is what we will do with those additional gifts.
In Worship we will fund a well-deserved sabbatical for Dr. Beth Davis. Choirmasters, like clergy, are typically offered a 2-3 month sabbatical every 5-7 years. Beth has never received a sabbatical in her 22+ year tenure. We want her to be able to disconnect, recharge and dream about her next 22 years of music leadership at GHTC. In Accessibility, we want to invest in 2-3 new cameras to enhance our livestream worship experience. Cameras that rotate 360 degrees can better capture the beauty and awe of our worship experience. We could zoom in, follow all the worship leaders and scan the gathered community, enhancing worship for those who join us from a distant location. Having a quality livestream experience will also improve our evangelism efforts as newcomers often visit us first online. Lastly, the Outreach focus is to help us return to a robust and fully-funded outreach budget. When times are tight, outreach is an easy place to cut back, and I speculate GHTC is no different. Outreach should reflect the importance we place on those mission ministries that connect us to our neighbors. I firmly believe the future of the church is grounded in outreach, and the pledged budget is an indicator of that commitment.
The sacredness of financial giving is part of being a community that is in a spiritual relationship with God. We are grateful for your 2024 pledge. As you are considering your 2025 pledge, please ask how God is calling you to share out of your abundance. We celebrate both life in our community and God. Blessings!
In Peace,
Father Brent
Thank you to those who have submitted a pledge towards the 2025 parish budget. If you have not yet made your pledge, there is still time. You can make your pledge one of the following ways:
- Our secure online giving page allows you to use your credit or debit card. You can set up an account for recurring payments or make a single transaction.
- Automatic electronic transfers through your financial institution.
- Cash or check in the offering plate. (To receive tax credit for your gift, you must place your cash in an envelope with your name on it or use a check.)
- Gifts of securities (such as stocks). Please contact the Financial Secretary for information about transfers via the church’s brokerage account.
- Through planned giving, such as endowing your pledge or naming the church as a beneficiary of your retirement account, life insurance, or in your estate.
Take two minutes to complete two steps. Your pledge helps the Vestry plan for the year.
Step 1 – Send us a pledge commitment
The Online Pledge form is emailed to us.
Step 2 – Make your donation by check, electronic transfer, credit/debit card, or gift of securities.
If you have any questions about your pledge, please contact the Financial Administrator in the Parish Office at (804) 359-5628 x14.