Stewardship FAQs

What is Stewardship?

Stewardship refers to the sharing of our time, talent and treasure. It is a means by which we can strengthen and deepen our faith.  As Christians, we believe that all that we have and all that we are comes from God.  So it makes sense that we are stewards of these precious gifts.  Being good stewards brings us closer to God.

Sounds easy enough, but how do we do it? 

 

By giving of ourselves. At St. Luke’s, we have a long history of being an active and generous congregation.  Each of us contributes to the life of the parish by attending services.  But we contribute in many other ways that feed our souls while helping our parish to thrive, from singing in the choir or ushering to serving at coffee hour or teaching Sunday School.

 

We have also committed to more outreach, from trips to the Dominican Republic to contributing more money and volunteer hours to Habitat for Humanity to partnering with St. George’s in Central Falls.

 

Making a financial commitment to the church in the form of a pledge rounds out our stewardship obligation by giving back to God and providing the financial foundation for all that St. Luke’s does.

What is a Pledge?

It is an annual commitment made in good faith to give an amount of money to the church in regular installments (weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually), chosen by you. Each year in the Fall, we have our annual campaign to invite pledges from parishioners. Pledges are typically made then or at any time during the year as you wish.

Why Pledge?

First and foremost, it is a spiritual practice.  As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Pledging enforces our connection to God through our support of God’s house.  It is our duty to support our church; this is how we live out good stewardship.

On a practical level, there is no “membership fee” at church.  Instead, we are asked to join in the voluntary practice of pledging.  Our pledges help St. Luke’s to organize its mission and ministries for the coming year when preparing the budget.