Stewardship

The parishioners of St. John’s comprise a community of faith that exists to share Christ’s love through Holy Communion and through the circles of relationship that define our parish.  Our role also includes spreading the good news of Christ to others through our words and deeds.  Over our more than 250 year history, we have sustained our church and our mission through the gifts of time, talent and financial resources of our members. 

This shared stewardship has resulted in a rich history, a beautiful church building and a parish that reaches out to those in need, both here in Carlisle and in the national and world communities.  For us to grow as a congregation, maintain our historic church, and expand our programs both within and outside our parish, we ask every member of our parish to share as they are able part of their resources.

Annual Giving
 
Each fall St. John’s conducts an every-member canvass which seeks financial pledges from our members.  The largest portion of the income side of our annual budget is “pledge income.”

In 2007 St. John’s created a 5-year Strategic Mission Plan based on conversations and plans from more than 120 parishioners. The focus areas of this plan are:

• Enhancing the Music Ministry
• Development of a Pre-School
• Youth Ministry
• Partnership in Mission

We put our faith in God and our parishioners that we will find the means for both the capital investment and the ongoing support costs associated with these initiatives.  During our 2007-08 Stewardship visits and discussions, we are asking our members to increase their pledging and giving by 6% - 8% to the extent that they are able to do so.

To see a copy of the materials for St. John's 2007 - 2008 Fulfilling Our Hopes and Dreams opportunity to demonstrate personal stewardship, please click here.

Planned Giving

Another part of our strategy to invest in the future of our parish was to establish the idea of “planned giving” among our parishioners.  Planned gifts are those that someone makes from assets accumulated over a lifetime that he or she no longer requires to meet their own financial needs or those of their family.  No matter the size of such gifts, the important thing about them is that they allow individuals to leave a legacy to future members of St. John's Church and the community of which we are a part. For more information please see the details on the Bishop White Legacy Society page.