Connections

The Stewardship Pledge Campaign — 2009

Old Ship Church

first parish in hingham, unitarian universalist

Welcome!

Welcome! We hope you find the words and numbers in this booklet helpful as you think about your share of the stewardship of our Old Ship community. Our purpose in gathering these is to help you determine what you want to give this year to the mission and vision that is Old Ship.

Stewardship is about caring for something precious that has been entrusted to us. It makes visible our role as custodians, with responsibilities to nurture our community. And it reflects our Unitarian Universalist belief that we all are part of the interdependent web of life.

In these pages, you’ll find information about Old Ship’s expenses – what it will cost to fund normal operations during the coming church year (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010), and what income we expect to meet those costs.

And to give you a new way of seeing these numbers, we have tried expressing them as individual “shares” of Old Ship activities – so that you can see, on a per-household basis, what we need to support our community.

We encourage you to think about your connection to Old Ship, and where this fits in your life. And remember that as part of Old Ship, you are also part of the larger Unitarian Universalist community, giving to and sharing in its ongoing efforts to make this a better world.

The downturn in the economy can make it hard to decide what to pledge this year. Some of us have had pay cuts; some have lost jobs. But we continue to welcome and value each other, whatever our economic circumstances. Please know it is OK to make pledges reflect this present time in our lives.

Some of us haven’t experienced these economic jolts. This gives us the opportunity to consider increasing our generosity – giving a caring hand on behalf of others in our community who can’t. This also gives us a chance to examine all the financial gifts we make, perhaps re-ordering them to reflect how they represent what, to each of us, matters most.

Promising to give money to this community is one way we express our commitment to help and care for – to love – each of us in it. Making a pledge enables us to make visible our commitment to give money to this community, to care for it in a way that Old Ship can count on.

Thank you for sharing the abundance in your life, for joining with us to be stewards of this community, and for helping Old Ship grow.

— Ralph Brown and Maureen Butler

Co-chairs, The Stewardship Pledge Campaign — 2009

About this year’s budget

This was a tough year to put together an Old Ship budget. What a mix we had: economic hardship, uncertain pledge income, a shrinking endowment, rising expenses, budget deficits – all requiring decisions bound to disappoint those we care about.

But in contending with all that, we achieved something extraordinary: we strengthened our community. We produced a budget – but more importantly, we confronted these difficult issues head on, in a spirit of cooperation and respect, instead of retreating from them. We asked tough questions, and we responded with thoughtful and heartfelt answers. (Think of John McKendry’s presentation on our music program!) We listened carefully to what others had to say, and we made the best decisions we could. We shared opinions and feelings openly, passionately. Instead of coming apart, we came together. We became stronger, closer. That was our real “financial” achievement this year.

The other achievement, the budget – to be submitted to all of you for final approval at the annual meeting in May – was approved by the Board of Trustees in April. Here is a summary of the critical decisions we made:

• No increase in what we collect in pledge income.

• A $4,000, drop in what we will draw from the endowment.

• Continuing Religious Education fees begun last year.

• No cost-of-living increases for our staff members.

• No ministerial intern for the second year in a row.

• A $2,200 reduction in the paid singers and non-personnel
budget for Music.

• Halving the installment due on the boiler loan from the endowment.

• Budgeting the minimum for maintaining buildings and grounds.

• Allocating $1,000 for social outreach beyond what we give from

invested funds, special appeals, and monthly plate offerings.

• Accepting an operating deficit of $5,000.

While you may not agree with some of these decisions, I hope you see them as balanced, considered, and reflective of what we heard from all of you. And please understand that we who put this budget together have learned through this year’s process how to do it even better next year.

As you decide how much to pledge, I hope you will consider what it takes to operate Old Ship. And I also hope you will be influenced by the love and community and generosity of spirit that brought this budget together.

— John Sneath, Treasurer

Income

Where it comes from

Expenses

Where it goes

Some numbers

Making a pledge to give money to Old Ship is one way to express the desire to help and care for – to love – each person in it. Each of us does this for our own reasons. But making a pledge is making a commitment to give money to this community in a way that we can count on.

Old Ship is self-supporting. The costs of operating it – salaries, heat, lights, maintenance, materials – are paid with the pledges that members make each year. Old Ship does have additional sources of income. An endowment, currently worth about $770,000, this year will contribute approximately $22,000. Special gifts and non-pledge contributions will add another $17,000. Other sources of income – fund-raisers, religious education fees, rentals – also help pay the bills. But most of our budget is paid for by our pledges.

Here is a high-level overview of the budget for the 2009-2010 church year:

$333,000 what we need to operate Old Ship next year

75,000 what we receive from other sources of income
– endowment, special gifts, fund raisers, etc.

258,000 what we must contribute ourselves

180 the number of households currently pledging to Old Ship

1,400 the amount of one “share” – total expenses divided by the
number of pledging households

This per-household “share” of what it takes to keep Old Ship open is not meant to be a suggested pledge. In fact, many households in our community pledge less than this, and many pledge more. Instead, the “share” is designed to show Old Ship’s financial needs from a different perspective. Instead of presenting the budget as a single large number, we want to show it in a way that relates it to other items in your own household budget.

Most importantly, we want to encourage you to pledge what you are able – less than or more than this share. We believe that your pledge is a very personal expression of who you are. We want to give you as much information as we can, but we know that this decision is yours.

About giving

So now the question is How? How do you give? You’ve decided that you want to give, from a place of abundance, of generosity, of gratitude, and that you want to do so in a regular and intentional way. Here is information about how to do that for the coming church year, which begins on July 1, 2009, and ends on June 30, 2010. This will help you determine how much you want to pledge, how to make your pledge, and how to fulfill it during the year.

On the next pages are tables from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Fair Share Giving Guide. This guide starts with a financial commitment of two percent of adjusted gross income – total income less deductions on IRS tax forms – for givers with incomes up to $10,000, and ranges upward from there.

The guide offers four categories of giving, differentiated by the degree of commitment to the church a giver feels. Within each category, a range of annual incomes appear, with suggested percentages of incomes expressed as weekly, monthly and yearly contributions.

You may not be able to increase your pledge at once to reach these recommendations. Instead, we encourage you, if you are able, to make a commitment to move towards the guidelines, perhaps over a period of years.

Please remember that this guide is a guide, offered to help you with a decision. It is not a requirement. You may use anything you wish to reach a very personal decision—how much to give. Also, remember that your pledge is based on what you know today. If your financial circumstances change during the year, it is OK to change your pledge.

Once you’ve made your decision, please use the card enclosed with this booklet to tell us what you wish to pledge. The card has a space where you can enter the amount of your gift, and check boxes indicating the frequency with which you wish to fulfill your pledge. Please sign the card, place it in the accompanying return envelope, and return it to Old Ship by April 26. Then, make your gift, and enjoy the giving.

Thank you!

Supporter

You see yourself as a Supporter because Old Ship is a significant part of your life and promotes your spiritual growth. In this category, if your income is $50,000, your fair-share gift is three percent of that – $29 a week, or $125 a month. Your gift grows to $1,500 by the end of the year.

Sustainer

You see yourself as a Sustainer because Old Ship is central to your identity, and you are committed to sustaining its programs and ministries. In this category, your fair-share gift is four percent of your $50,000 income – $38.50 a week, or $167 a month. Your gift grows to $2,000 by the end of the year.

Visionary

You see yourself as a Visionary because you are committed to the growth of Old Ship. Your fair-share gift in this category is five percent of your income of $50,000 – $53 a week, or $208 per month. Your gift grows to $2,500 by the end of the year.

Tithe

You choose to tithe because you wish to express your commitment to your Old Ship community, and your expression of yourself as a part of it, through the ancient practice of the tithe. Your tithe for your income of $50,000 is $96 a week, or $417 a month. Your gift grows to $5,000 by the end of the year.

A message from our minister

A story is told by my colleague, Anita Farber-Robertson, of a pastor who made an appeal in church for a great cause. A few days later, a member of the congregation appeared and handed the pastor a check for $50, asking if this was satisfactory. The pastor replied, “If it represents you.” After a moment’s deep thought, she asked to have the check returned. A few days later she appeared again, this time with a check for $5,000. She again asked if this was satisfactory, and the pastor replied in the same way. Once more she left the office check in hand. Finally she appeared at the end of the week with a check for $50,000, saying that after long, prayerful thought she had concluded that this check represented her and that she was happy to be able to give it.

Well, $50,000 is a lot more than most of us could begin to think of giving. But that’s not the point of the story. The point is in the pastor’s question and in our answer. So in this spirit, when it comes to this year’s stewardship pledge drive at Old Ship, each of us can ask ourselves: What pledge for the coming year will best represent who I am, will best represent my commitment to and care for Old Ship, as well as my ability to give?

Our stewardship leaders have provided useful guidelines to help us consider what size pledge might be appropriate given our income, our expenses, and our commitment to Old Ship. But in the end, each of our answers will be personal and unique.

In these tough times, some will no doubt need to reduce their pledge or just hold steady. But others, knowing this, may be able to give more to help our beloved congregation through this uncertain and challenging period. And meanwhile our Board of Trustees has worked diligently to present a prudent budget, which includes difficult cuts.

I don’t know about you, but the financial and economic crisis has helped remind me of values that matter most in my life. Simple, really: Kindness and love. And if nourishing the roots of kindness and love isn’t at the heart of all that we hope our congregation is about, then I’m not sure what is.

Thank you for all that you so faithfully give to Old Ship in time, energy, and creativity, as well as in financial resources. Together we will ensure that Old Ship continues to be a vibrant community of spiritual depth and committed outreach in a world in more need than ever of the nourishing presence of more kindness and more love.

— Rev. Kenneth H. Read-Brown