I can only begin this week’s message with profound thanks. Over the past four months, we have navigated a challenging pledge campaign. Pledge giving is rarely a consistent phenomenon: people move on to other parishes, their financial circumstances change, or they relocate to a different geographical region. 2025 was no exception. While we lost about $30,000 in returning pledged income from 2025 to 2026, about $15,000 more was pledged in 2026 than in 2025. More than half of returning pledges increased, some significantly. 17 new pledges were added, for a total of 60 total pledges (3 more than in 2025). Among these pledges are new parishioners, children, and college students. All I can say is THANK YOU!
Generosity is a marker of spiritual health, whether in how we give of our money or of our time. The stronger our relationship with Christ becomes, the more willing we are to give of ourselves to support God’s ministry. The more generous we are, the less fearful we usually are, too. Sacrificial giving, as with true love, does not count pennies but offers everything back excessively to God. God’s love, of course, is excessive, spilling over and out from the life of the Trinity into our world.
In our annual parish report, which will be published in just a week’s time, I will offer a more detailed recounting of the changes I have seen at Good Shepherd over the past five and a half years. But perhaps the most significant change I have witnessed is a near miraculous shift from fear and scarcity to hope and abundance. This metamorphosis has resulted in operational budgets that are generous in supporting ministry that is key to the proclamation of the Gospel and to furthering parish growth, as well as in offering just compensation to parish staff. Our budgets have been generous in assuming continued growth in our future, trusting that, even when we face major challenges, God will provide.
It goes without saying that the rest of the world rarely operates in this fashion. Most people are happy to spend extravagantly when it primarily benefits themselves and their comfort, but fewer are willing to give in excess to causes that benefit others, although thankfully there are still philanthropists among us! But in the realm of the Church, we are told to do something extraordinary: put God first and then figure the rest of our finances out afterwards. This might mean foregoing a big vacation one year or buying fewer books, cups of coffee, or fancy clothes. But by engaging in such a spiritual practice, we soon learn that we are, in fact, able to live without all those things. True joy finds us when God is at the center of our lives.
I realize that in my time as rector, I have talked a lot about money. I have done so primarily because I believe that our Christian faith requires that we give to God first. I have also spoken frequently about money because this parish has faced, and still faces, financial challenges. These challenges are not the result of our own imprudence, however. They are the result of decisions made before most of us ever came to Good Shepherd, and those unfortunate decisions were more about fostering factionalism than encouraging unity. Blessedly, that is in the past, and yet, we are left with the responsibility of carrying on with the Gospel amid certain obstacles. We are and will continue to do this by encouraging unity and reconciliation, not division and conflict.
But what I have noticed is that the more we have talked openly about money and the spiritual practice of sacrificial giving, the more generosity has been evidenced in this parish. As the priest says in blessing the offerings of money at Mass: “all things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” It’s counterintuitive. We receive from God and then give it back to God. As an employee of this parish, I accept a paycheck, and then I give ten percent of that net income back to the parish. Why not just withhold it to begin with? Well, I think there’s a lot of value in seeing the money in one’s checking account and then reckoning with its imminent departure from that same account.
I feel so strongly about sacrificial giving that I have already discussed it with children in Sunday formation. I want them to know from an early age that they should live in hope, love, and trust, rather than in fear. If they learn this at an early age, they will be a part of a new movement that chooses to see the world with eyes of abundance rather than scarcity. And I am deeply moved that two of our children choristers have more than tithed on their chorister stipends to support ministry in 2026.
As I said initially, I have nothing but thanks for your generosity as we respond to God’s call to rebuild this parish for the sake of the Gospel. To date, about $254,000 has been pledged towards ministry in 2026. This is about $11,000 short of our goal of $265,000. If you are able to give more, will you help us reach this goal? I believe we can! It is never too late to pledge, and so if you have not yet made a pledge, please consider doing so as soon as possible. You may do so easily online. Our giving tree remains in the retreat house for browsing on Sundays. And if you have already pledged but wish to increase it (as many already have), you can simply email Mary Campbell, our Financial Administrator. The parish vestry will meet on January 17 to finalize a proposed 2026 budget before the annual meeting, so please consider making your pledge before then. Please remember that as the parish looks towards preserving its historic buildings and addressing deferred maintenance in the future, any grant-awarding organizations that we might court will look at the health of our congregational giving. Now is the time to get it right! Each of us who cherish this parish have a responsibility to do our part in moving the parish towards greater financial strength. As I’ve said before, there are no unnamed major philanthropists who will bail us out. That is magical thanking! The financial burden of supporting parish ministry lies with all of us who call Good Shepherd home.
I’ll end this message the way I started, with thanks. Thank you for trusting in God’s gracious provision. Thank you for trusting Good Shepherd’s leadership with making wise and faithful decisions for the well being of the parish. Thank you for all you do to make this parish a shining witness of the Gospel in a hurting world. And thanks be to God for his many gifts.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle