Jesus challenges us to love God with our whole heart, soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbors as we would ourselves.

How do we love with everything we’ve got at St. John’s Episcopal? We can do this in more ways than most of us realize. We love God and others when we nurture and share our blessings. Through responsible stewardship of our blessings, we can put our gifts and time to good work and put love into action with everything we’ve got.

We have two dimensions of stewardship in our church: to be responsible and faithful stewards of St. John’s and its collective resources and for each of us to be good stewards of the individual gifts and resources with which God has blessed us. A ministry unto itself, stewardship also nurtures and supports our Loving God and Loving Neighbor ministries – from Worship and Formation to Outreach, Pastoral Care and Fellowship.

Stewards of St. John’s

From generation to generation, for over 140 years, the people of St. John’s Episcopal have faithfully taken care of our community and resources. Much of what we enjoy today – in everything from worship to outreach opportunities to parish programming and more – has been provided by the foresight and commitment of St. John’s families past and present. Whether the commitment is financial or physical, intellectual or emotional, St. John’s greatly appreciates all contributions and all who support and serve.

Contributions of all types may be made in any of our ministries, detailed on other pages of our website. Below, we recognize many of our ‘behind the scenes’ service roles and encourage involvement in any areas that speak to your gifts and to which God may be calling you.

Office Support

Volunteers are trained to receive incoming calls and office visitors, particularly those seeking assistance from St. John’s SAMS pantry and our Samaritan Fund. As end of the week nears, there are Sunday bulletins to prepare. Volunteers also assist with opening and securing church access points.

Communications

There are great stories and important information to share at St. John’s – both among members and from our church out to the wider community. We have numerous channels to distribute that content, from our monthly newsletter to our website, social media to our Sunday bulletin and more. Producing quality content – text, photos, graphics, audio and video – takes time and talent. Whether it’s finding, writing, illustrating or sharing St. John’s stories, we appreciate creativity and communications know-how.

Buildings and Grounds

This committee meets when any significant building or physical resource question is raised by anyone in the congregation. Our committee will address what needs repair or replacement and the chairperson is responsible for contacting the church sexton or a contractor. Recent projects have included plans to redesign St. John’s cloister garden, brick work, roof repairs and pew alterations to facilitate wheel chair access and inclusion.

Finance and Administration

While the F&A committee is no longer active, those willing to lend their training/experience in one or more of the following areas is appreciated: accounting, finance, investments, management, or insurance. Past committee work included recommendation to the Vestry for a new investment advisor for the endowment funds and a new software program for St. John’s accounting and recommendation to monitor the performance of the investment advisor used to manage St. John’s endowment funds.

Stewardship Committee

The responsible management and care for God’s many gifts to us happens year-round. Every fall, however, as we enter a new liturgical year, we devote time to intentional and prayerful consideration of the needs of our congregation and call and our response to those needs and that call. Our stewardship committee organizes St. John’s Fall Commitment Program, meeting more regularly in early fall (usually about an hour following Sunday worship). They aim to explore different ways to challenge our congregation to share and offer resources of time, talents and treasures. Their stewardship efforts help remind us that everything we are and everything we have are God’s free gift to us, and that we have a responsibility to use those gifts to give glory to God and to spread God’s love to all people.

Stewards of Our Gifts

Stewardship of our gifts is part of loving God with everything we’ve got. It is a joyful and grateful response to God for all He gives to us. Each year, St. John’s Episcopal Church impacts the lives of thousands of people – neighbors near and far – by giving our time, talents, and treasures. Your support helps our call to love God and our neighbors come to fruition.

Gifts of Service

Through participation in our ministries, we at St. John’s invite you to share your gifts. Please consider actively serving in one of our ministries – organizing, participating, counseling or leading. Opportunities are listed here.

Gifts of Financial Support

To continue the pastoral and ministry work of St. John’s Episcopal Church, we need the financial participation of all our members. Pledging and information about our fall commitment program is here. Ways to Give details options for how you may make your gift of financial support. If you already know you’d like to give online, simply click here.

To help in any of the areas described above, please contact us or complete our volunteer form.

Ways To Give

There are a number of different ways you can financially support St. John’s ministries. No matter how you give, you may always request a statement from St. John’s to ensure we are properly recording your gifts. For information on pledging, please click here.
Online Giving

St. John’s Episcopal Church offers online giving as a secure, convenient way to support the mission of our church. For many, this method of giving simplifies the process and allows you to give from any location with internet access. It’s easy to start, make changes or stop at any time. To make a one-time or reoccurring gift online, please click here.

Electronic Contributions {ACH or Automatic Bank Debit}

Contributions made electronically are easy, environmentally friendly and increase our administrative effectiveness. Often referred to as automatic clearing house (ACH) payments or automatic bank debits, these transactions are automatically transferred from your bank account to the church’s bank account. You may schedule weekly, monthly or quarterly gifts to St. John’s Episcopal Church. To set this up, contact St. John’s Bookkeeper Denise Isenbarger or download our Electronic Contribution Authorization Form. You may fill this form out at home and place it in the offering plate when you come to service or mail it to our church office. Please note: You must reauthorize electronic contributions annually.

Your Bank’s ‘Bill Pay’ Service

You can utilize your bank’s bill pay service to have checks automatically cut and mailed to St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Cash and Checks

Cash and checks are still popular and preferred methods for many who financially support St. John’s and our ministries. Please make checks payable to “St. John’s Episcopal Church” and use the memo section for any designation. To have your cash gifts reflected on your giving statement, please use an offering envelope and be sure to write your name and address clearly. More on using envelopes is below.

Envelopes

For some, using envelopes is a helpful stewardship reminder. If you would like to receive St. John’s offering envelopes, please contact us. If you make cash gifts, a completed envelope is required for them to be reflected on your giving statement.

Stock Gifts

While you should always check current tax laws, anyone who gives securities directly to the church after holding those securities for more than one year may be able to deduct the full fair market value of the securities and avoid paying any capital gain tax. However, if securities are sold first at a gain and proceeds given to the church afterward, the donor still has to pay capital gain taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.). A little planning in this area can help you take full advantage of the tax benefits allowed by the government. Please contact St. John’s if you’d like help carrying out a gift of stock.

Matching Gifts

Many companies allow their employees to make donations to charitable organizations through payroll deductions, and some will match the gift dollar for dollar. Ask your employer’s human resources, matching gift, or payroll department if there is a matching gift program. St. John’s Episcopal is an approved tax-exempt organization by the I.R.S. under section 501(c)(3).

Personal Property (Gifts-in-Kind)

We gratefully accept gifts-in-kind that we can truly use, or we try to direct donors to other ministries that have related needs. While we can provide a letter confirming the nature of the gift, we can not reference it on church giving statements as it is the donor’s responsibility to assess and document the gift’s value for tax purposes. Please contact St. John’s to discuss possible gift-in-kind donations.

Wills and Bequests

Your will or other estate plans can be used to make a charitable gift to St. John’s Episcopal Church and its ministries. If you choose to include the church in your will or estate plan, please let your attorney know the church’s name and address and communicate that St. John’s is a 501(c)(3) organization. This type of gift may be helpful in appropriately minimizing estate taxes. If you have already included the church in your will, please let us know so that we may convey our thanks.

“In Memory of…” and “In Honor of…” Tribute Gifts

Gifts that are designated “in memory of” or “in honor of” loved ones, family members, friends, ministry leaders, mentors and others are special to our church, the donor and all connected to the individual(s) being remembered or honored. We are grateful for those who lend tribute to a loved one by making a gift to the ministries of St. John’s Episcopal Church in their honor or memory.

Environmental Ministry

Grant Helps St. John’s Garden Boxes; Gear Up To Start Growing

Each garden season, St. John’s aims to raise vegetables for the SAMS Pantry food assistance ministry. Thanks to past funding from St. John’s Endowment Committee, the Environmental Mission Team at St. John’s has been able to offer even more in recent years. In spring 2016, additional garden boxes were constructed and made available to members of St. John’s and those living in St. John’s neighborhood.

If you want a box to raise vegetables for your family, sign up through the church. Boxes are available on a first-come / first-serve basis. Look for sign-up sheets posted on the church bulletin boards or contact the parish office.

Living Waters For The World Mission

From time to time, St. John’s offers brief presentations and loose plate collections for the Living Waters for the World (LWW) mission. Between 2008 and mid-2014, in support of this water ministry’s efforts in the SE Mexico region, St. John’s Endowment Committee and parish members made generous contributions ($65,000 and $12,000 respectively).

The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation), as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease. Every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return. Learn more: Visit www.water.org.