WHO IS THE ACTIVE STEWARD?
The Active Steward is actively living their faith. They don’t merely give of their treasure. They also give their time regularly attending Divine Liturgy and other worship services; they regularly participate in Holy Communion, Holy Unction, and Holy Confession; they spend their time in and offer their talent to the ministries and needs of the church, respectively; and they try to adhere to and live according to the teachings of the Orthodox Christian Faith.
This active member is often referred to as a “member in good standing.”
WHAT DOES YOUR STEWARDSHIP SUPPORT?
Stewardship is intended to support the entire church budget.
Specifically, it supports in-reach, outreach, religious education, young adult life, spiritual life events that include retreat offerings, youth programs, our multi-generational ministries, and the church’s general operations, which itself supports the National Ministries of our Archdiocese, our Metropolis of New Jersey, and related institutions.
OUR GOAL
Our three (3) overarching Stewardship Giving goals as a Church family are to:
1. Faithfully Fulfill God’s Stewardship Command to Give [Gen. 2:15; Lev. 25:1-5; 2 Chronicles 31:12; Ps. 24:1]
2. Increased, Consistent, & Regular Giving and
3. Increased Participation from our members.
Our ultimate goal? 100% member participation and a 100% stewardship-funded budget. Currently, 300 out of 390 parishioner families who make up our church family are active Stewards, and their offerings cover about 68% of the annual parish budget.
So how do we achieve this goal of 100%?
OUR SUSTAINING STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE
Sustaining Stewardship is a simple, scripturally consistent, and practical initiative to meet our above Stewardship Giving goals.
This initiative explicitly asks each parishioner to financially support the church by giving a portion of their treasure through automatic and recurring stewardship payments. This member and steward who enrolls in these payments is referred to as a Sustaining Steward.
A Sustaining Steward commits to stay engaged continuously and support the church through regular weekly or monthly payments. A Sustaining Steward’s pledge rolls over to the following year without filling out a pledge card each year. A Sustaining Steward can adjust their pledge anytime to reflect their level of commitment or personal/family situation.
WHY BECOME A SUSTAINING STEWARD?
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SUSTAINING STEWARDSHIP?
Becoming a Sustaining Steward (1) fulfills God’s command to give faithfully and regularly. As a sustaining steward, your enrollment and giving (2) rolls-over annually, eliminating the need to re-register and re-pledge every year. This automatic and recurring giving also (3) helps the church address seasonal funding gaps, and (4) helps us achieve festival independence, allowing us to save more.
Ultimately, it (5) creates better ministry and budgetary planning, and (6) helps support our church, her ministries, and their growth.
HOW DO I BECOME A SUSTAINING STEWARD?
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Fill out the Family Information Form HERE (first- time registration or annual update)
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Fill out the Online Pledge Form HERE and choose your method of payment (auto-debit from a debit card, credit card, or checking account trough GivePlus+; personal check; or you bank’s bill payer service)
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If you are already signed up for regular payments through GivePlus+ or your bank's bill payer service, you are already a Sustaining Steward! Please adjust your pledge and payment to reflect your new level of commitment for 2021 and make sure your automatic payments continue through the new year.
Annunciation is a full stewardship parish that requires no minimum pledge to be a Steward.
Our Stewardship Program encourages parishioners 18 and over to pledge donations in any amount, according to the blessings they have received from our Lord.
Our Stewardship Pledge Drive starts in November for the following calendar year, although new members and current members may submit a pledge at any time.
We offer you the Weekly Giving Guideline chart below to help you determine your level of giving. Being a good steward is using your resources wisely.
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Weekly Giving Guidelines
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Weekly
Income
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10%
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5%
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4%
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2%
|
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$500
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$50
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$25
|
$20
|
$10
|
|
$750
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$75
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$37
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$30
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$15
|
|
$1000
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$100
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$50
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$40
|
$20
|
|
$1500
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$150
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$75
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$60
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$30
|
|
$2000
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$200
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$100
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$80
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$40
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The falling asleep in the Lord of Senator Paul Sarbanes is a profound moment in the consciousness of our Holy Archdiocese, which marks the passing of a true giant of the Omogeneia and the Nation. There are so many who have stood on his shoulders and seen farther and clearer than they could have ever imagined. Paul Sarbanes was the proud son of immigrants from Greece, whose vision for the future found a sweeping panorama of the American dream in their son, who went on an exceptional educational journey from Princeton, to Oxford, to Harvard, and whose trajectory was a life of exemplary and extraordinary public service.
The Office of Ionian Village has released a “Limited Edition Meet me at the Chapel” Christmas Ornament to raise funds to repair areas of the camp site damaged by a mid-October tornado. All proceeds from this ornament fundraiser will be donated to the Ionian Village Tornado Fund.
Fr. Nicholas and his wife, Dr. Roxanne Louh, a Clinical Psychologist, speak with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, as well as Fr. Alex Karloutsos and Mr. Michael Psaros about the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero.
The Department of Greek Education presents the Hagia Sophia Art Contest for children ages 6-14. The deadline is December 31st, 2020 and features cash prizes for first, second, and third place.
