2024 annual Advancement campaign:
“how firm a foundation”
One year ago the Church of the Good Shepherd formulated a Five-Year Plan to reach financial stability while maintaining the important work and ministries of the church. We now embark on the second year of this plan, though with some modifications to match changing circumstances.
The Five-Year Plan was formulated because it had become clear that we were drawing too much of our operating expenses from our limited investments. Rather than proceeding timidly, attempting to cut ministry and mission in order to achieve financial solvency, we elected to proceed with faith and hope, by boldly mapping out a way to raise sufficient finances within our available resources to reach our goals of ministry. Those goals are
to compensate our clergy and lay staff fairly, including benefits and an appropriate annual raise to match cost of living expenses. Since we called Father Babin as our full-time Rector, we have been assisted by financial aid from the diocese so that he could perform campus ministry; but our church should assume more of his salary over the next five years.
to sustain our music program, which has always been an integral part of our worship. We need increased funding as we engage a new Director of Music to succeed Matt Glandorf and provide the new musician with the necessary funds (choral scholars, staff singers, music, maintenance of the organ) necessary to continue a first-rate music program at Good Shepherd.
to support the Rosemont Community Retreat House. The House, adjacent to the Church on Montrose Avenue in the former rectory, required much work for repairs, for some of which we were the fortunate beneficiaries of grants and assistance. The House has now become a source of growth and opportunity for ministry, and by God’s grace, a source of revenue that is reflected in the five-year plan.
to maintain the physical plant. Over the years we have rented portions of our facility to other organizations. It would be optimal to reclaim more of our property for the needs of the congregation and staff and for the needs of the community.
How do we secure sufficient funds for these needs? Pledged giving is a cornerstone of financial stability in the Episcopal Church. At Good Shepherd, it has increased significantly over the past several years, and a continued increase is reflected in our five-year plan. Weekly plate offerings and other donations are essential and much appreciated, but pledged income – money that is promised in advance to the parish by parishioners and friends – affords the parish a stable basis for projecting its annual budget and making future plans. This year we are expecting to bring our pledged giving up to $170,000 from $130,000 last year. This would require a considerable commitment from our small congregation, but we believe that it is not just possible, but essential.
One might ask what an appropriate pledge would be. The church's traditional understanding of a tithe, based on scripture, is 10% of our income. It also reminds us that all we own comes from God, and that we are simply giving back what he has already given us. Instead of making out a personal budget and giving to the church from what is left over, perhaps one could calculate 10% of net income, set it aside for the church, and then make one's own personal budget. This might seem painful–but it will be made up for by the satisfaction of knowing that we have put God and his ministry before our own needs and preferences.
At the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, we believe that God is calling us to grow for the sake of his kingdom. God is calling us to advance, not to stand still. A static budget is regression; our expanded budget is progress guided by God in service of the gospel of Christ.
Will you join us in making or considerably increasing a pledge towards ministry in 2024? Will you join us in realizing the advancement of God’s mission on Philadelphia’s Main Line and beyond? Thank you!