2025 Annual Giving
Parish members are encouraged to make an annual stewardship pledge. This pledge represents their specific Christian commitment to “work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God” (BCP, p. 856).
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
It is an exciting time to be at Grace! In the short time that I have been here I have been humbled time and time again by the dedication, energy, and joy that members of Grace show in service of the mission and ministry of the church. We have seen a return to weekly Christian Formation offerings for Children, Youth, and Adults, a more robust calendar of Parish Life events to connect us socially, and deepened connections with our partner community organizations. All of this is in addition to the essential yet day-to-day ministry of caring for one another and for our neighbors here in Haddonfield and in Camden. At the first Adult Forum of the year, I shared that I am more excited about being at Grace and the ministry we have ahead of us than I was on the day that I arrived in Haddonfield.
This year our Stewardship theme is taken from the Letter to the Ephesians. This portion of Scripture is probably most familiar to each of us as the words that are used to introduce the offertory each Sunday morning. It is an invitation to respond to the marvelous gifts that we have received from God by patterning our lives on the life of Jesus Christ. We are invited to walk in the way of Jesus who lived his life as a sacrifice for the sake of others. We are invited to give of our financial resources, our time, and our wisdom in an offering of praise and thanksgiving for what we have already received from God. Your annual pledge, given in thanksgiving for the work of God in your life, will enable us to build on the good work that is already going on at Grace.
Over the next few weeks please take some time to pray, contemplate, and give thanks for what God has given in abundance, and then think about how God is calling you to give back. The Vestry and I have already made our annual commitments to Grace, and I invite you to join us in making a pledge to support our parish for the coming year. As you pray, consider whether God is calling you to increase your pledge for this year.
Included with this letter is a pledge card for 2025 and a weekly proportional giving chart intended to help you as you discern your gift. The front of the pledge card invites you to make a financial pledge, and the back of the card invites you to make a pledge of your wisdom and your works. The cards can be mailed back to the church, placed in the offering plate on Sunday, or dropped off in one of the “Walk in Love” boxes in the Church or Parish House. You may also submit your pledge online at gracehaddonfield.org/pledge. On Sunday, November 3rd, we will gather up the remaining pledge cards at each service. They, along with the cards gathered in the previous weeks, will be brought to the altar to be blessed and offered up to the service of God.
In Christ’s Love,
Father Neil
