Any spiritual practice is based on faith—faith that the act repeated regularly will increase our awareness of the presence of God and will gradually remove from our lives walls we erect that block God’s grace. Spiritual practices include worship, prayer, silence and meditation, contemplation, reading scripture, and giving. Giving (financial stewardship is our focus here) has numerous spiritual benefits. Here are just three:

• First, stewardship reduces our attachment to things material. We learn that giving away something we “have” really does not diminish us at all. Our needs continue to be met by God.
• Second, regular giving chips away at the concept of “mine” and “yours” and helps us better experience the truth that we are indeed one in spirit.
• Finally, in some mysterious way, our willingness to give determines our willingness to receive. No doubt many of us know individuals who, in their reluctance to give, are also reluctant to receive. Being willing to give makes us open to receiving the many good gifts that freely gives to us every moment of every day. 

Two reasons. First, pledging yourself to any spiritual practice increases the likelihood that you will actually do it. In the fall each year we ask you to commit to the practice of giving. We’re most concerned with your commitment to this practice, and less concerned with how much you give. Second, your vestry does its best to operate the church on a sound financial basis, and having a good handle on the revenue the church can expect enhances the vestry’s ability to plan responsibly.  We hold our stewardship campaign in the fall, because that’s when the vestry develops next year’s operating budget.

Ninety-seven percent. 

The goal is purely a both practical one for the church (it helps to even out our cash flow and makes financial management easier) and a matter of convenience for many parishioners. 

If you asked ten different members of the church this question you would likely get ten different answers. We encourage you to give a gift that is meaningful, even sacrificial, and we encourage you to increase the percentage of your household income that you commit each year, if you can.  If it helps as you think about this, Epiphany has annual pledges of $100 and annual pledges that exceed $25,000. Our average annual pledge was $2400 last year, our median $3800. If we can all give a gift that is meaningful to us, we will be able to achieve the vision for Epiphany that Rev. Nick and the vestry have put before us.