February 7th ,2010
Faithful Giving
Next Sunday in our bulletin we will publish the parish’s finance report for the last fiscal year. This past week I met with the parishioners who are the Finance Council of the parish in order to assess our current financial situation and to prepare the report we’ll print next week.
It became clear that despite the considerable challenges of the past year, the generosity of parishioners got us through some very tough moments and we are recovering from the downturn in the economy -- even as many of our parishioners continue to face salary cuts and job losses. Our parish staff continues to be affected by salary reductions at this time in order to make ends meet. I am so grateful to everyone who has been so faithful in giving during these difficult months.
At previous meetings the Finance Council also approved of a new approach to church contributions. We are partnering with “Faith Direct” to make it possible for people to donate regularly to the parish by using their credit or debit cards. In the past we were not able to accept credit card numbers (we were concerned about identity safety) but now it will be possible for people to use their card (and get rewards in miles or cash back, etc if they have such a card) to make their regular donation to the church. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
I hardly use checks anymore for my personal finances. I can pay bills on line and I have a few charities that I donate to every month that just bill my credit card. I don’t have to bother with envelopes, checks and stamps and -- the most important thing -- I don’t have to remember to do this. (There would be a lot more hungry children in the world if they had to rely on my remembering to write a check.) For me it is more than just convenience. It’s my way of making a commitment to what is important to me and knowing that despite the busy-ness of my life, my contributions are going to be made and they’re going to do good work regularly. I feel more secure in this.
Please consider signing up. It’s easy and it will really benefit our parish.
