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 | | Stewardship - All Saints’ Episcopal Church Stoneham, MA
| |  All Saints’ Episcopal Church
79 Central Street * Stoneham, Massachusetts 02180-2042 * 781.438.2776
| Dear Parishioners and Friends of All Saints,
I wanted to share with you some thoughts on the exciting things happening at All Saints, the stewardship of our gifts, and the projected needs of the ministry of the Parish for 2011. Hopefully, these thoughts will be helpful to all of us as we consider our giving and our pledging for 2011.
Each year we have to consider the abundance of the gifts that are ours as well as the needs of All Saints and its ministry in 2011. God has been good to the Parish for over 100 years in which dedicated women, men and children have worked to respond to the call to discipleship to spread the ‘Good News’ of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We’re very grateful to each and every one of you for your generosity in giving over 2010. Many of you have gone well beyond your pledge to give extra gifts during this past year for which we are very appreciative. We’re grateful to everyone for continued generosity of spirit and giving at All Saints.
Building and Grounds – This category includes the employment of our Sexton, John Piscadlo, the costs of heat, other utilities, insurance and repairs and maintenance on the church, the mission house and the hall. This line item is significant to our overall budget but very reasonable considering the size of our facilities.
Clergy Costs - We are fortunate to have Christian as a half-time priest at the Parish. As I am sure most of you know, Christian dedicates far more than his contracted 20 hours a week to All Saints. His compensation rate is at the very bottom of the scale for a half-time priest and is a non-negotiable rate stipulated by the Diocese of Massachusetts. Thanks to Christian’s boundless energy, we now have renewed energy in the Parish, Christian Education classrooms, a successful Adult Education series, our attendance has slightly increased, our facilities have improved, and we have attracted new members to the Church as well as visitors.
Liturgy and Music -- We’re grateful to have Susan Larson back with us. Her spirit and dedication are an inspiration to us all. Her ministry along with the dedication of the Choir ensure that we have fine sacred music for our worship week after week throughout the year. We’re also grateful to have had Shirley and David as choir members with us over the summer. The Altar Guild and the dedication of the many hands, especially those of Gloria and Thelma, help to ensure that our worship space has what we need for the beauty of our worship throughout the year.
Outreach – The majority of this expense category is the Diocesan Assessment which is formula driven. The balance is communication costs such as website, internet, telephone, computers and signage. Our website has proven to be a great source of connection with the larger community. Our Google Calendar is a small example of all the activities and events going on in the Parish. Our outreach includes many things but especially the dedication of individuals and their volunteering that we couldn’t put a price tag on even if we tried.
Clergy Salary and Pension -- Clergy salary and pension costs are set by the Diocese and the National Episcopal Church and the Diocese. We are required to meet those amounts in every year’s budget.
Christian Education -- Last, but not least important, is Christian Education for our children, youth and adults. The budget for Christian Education is minimal considering the value we place on Christian Education at All Saints, and the budget does not include the value of all the hours dedicated by many parishioners throughout the year. We’re grateful to all those who help to make the children’s and youth programs successful and to Christian for the adult Christian Education opportunities. The teachers and coordinators give countless valuable hours to run this program to educate our children.
If we included the value of all the extra volunteer efforts given by many of those in our parish, the amount would be in the millions. We are thankful for the many volunteers that have contributed their time and skills so that we can run the parish on such a small amount of money.
If you have any questions whatsoever, please, do not hesitate to contact me. Also for a copy of the current budget, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We have a very transparent process with every year’s budget, as it is our budget and belongs to us as a Parish community.
I know that you join me in giving thanks to God for the many wonderful gifts that are ours. Let us ask God to be with us as we consider the ministry needs of All Saints for 2011 and as we consider what we can give to the Church in order for that ministry to thrive and flourish in the upcoming year.
Peace and thanks,
Ann Marie Viglione, Treasurer
| All-Saints Church Pledge Card 2011 click here to view our Proportionate Giving information
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