Last month we shared a definition of Stewardship, “Stewardship is about using the gifts God gives us to do the work God calls us to do”. When some people hear this definition, they believe we are only talking about Treasure (money), we need to remember that Stewardship includes Time, Talent, and Treasure. Good Shepherd runs smoothly because of the significant Time and Talent that so many people give to Good Shepherd.
So, what does it take to run Good Shepherd on the Treasure side? In 2019 we have a balance budget which includes $491,000 in income and $491,000 in expenses. In Colorado we are a large Episcopal Church with a significant budget to support our Celebrate, Grow, and Serve Ministries. Let’s take a closer look at that budget.
Let’s look at the income side first. In our $491,000 of income, the pledge income received from our Parishioners is $421,000 (86% of our total income). In 2019 we have 155 pledging individuals/ families and that means our average pledge is $2716 per individual/ family. As you probably realize, we will have some pledges higher than this average and some pledges lower than this average.
Now let’s look at the expense side. To make this simple, we have divided the expenses into Administration, Building Maintenance, Outreach and Other. Administration total for the year is $378,000 (77% of the total expenses) which includes salaries, benefits, and those costs associated with our staff. The Building Maintenance costs are $58,000 (12% of our total expenses). The Outreach expenses total $43,000 (9% of our total expenses) and include our Diocesan Pledge, our Regional Pledge and direct Outreach grants. Our “other” category is $12,000 (2% of our total expenses) and includes several important categories such as Music and Worship, Parish Life, and Youth and Family Ministry.
The important point we are trying to share is that it costs a significant amount of money to fully operate Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, and we spend a considerable portion of our expenses on our Staff so that we have the Ministries we all want at Good Shepherd. Many of these expenses are fixed expenses and will carry over from year to year. We are blessed with a wonderful staff, very supportive Parishioners and a wonderful Ministry program at Good Shepherd. As we stated at the beginning of this article, we are also blessed with a Congregation that gave abundantly of the Stewardship of time and talent to make these Ministries run smoothly. We are hoping that with your help and our Invite, Welcome, and Connect program that we all will help to welcome new families into Good Shepherd and expand our Ministries.
And finally: The Oil Change
A friend was waiting at the car dealership for an oil change when a partisan TV show came on. A conversation ensued between him and another customer, each of whom saw political issues totally differently. After a brief and cordial talk, in which each person strove to hear the other, the friend’s car was ready, and as he left, the other customer unexpectedly gave him a hug…as did another customer who happened to overhear the conversation.
They all got more than an oil change that day.
Thank you for your participation in our loving family, and sharing though not always agreeing faith community, and for your continued stewardship support.
Keith Anderson, Nan Behringer, Tom Billings, Griffin Bridgers, Rev. Gary Brower, Anne McMahon, Joe Namaksy, and Jim Wolfe