Stewardship - Annual Giving

Please consider the following: One year's operating costs for First Parish are approximately $660,000 We have about 300 pledging families or individuals Therefore, the average cost per pledging family or individual is approximately $2200 Last year an average pledge amount of $1580 meant that we had to depend on the Church's endowment fund for 20% of the budget We should not be relying on past donations to the endowment fund for such a large portion of current operating expenses, and in today's market our ability to do so is dwindling. A commitment in excess of $1700 helps us reduce our dependence on the endowment A commitment in excess of $2200 helps those with fewer resources benefit from everything our church has to offer

What is Stewardship?

Stewardship: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.

Stewardship at First Parish

The annual Stewardship Campaign is the financial foundation for the operation of First Parish Church. Your contribution supports our clergy, our worship services, our church school, our adult education programs and social events - everything that makes us a community. It supports all the ingredients that go into making this church a place for learning, for service, for worship...a place for solace and celebration. Your annual giving supports our church as a place that matters to us, to Weston, and to other Boston neighborhoods and even to communities throughout the world.

We must pay for our programs this year as we do every year. Operating expenses never go away. They don’t wait for the markets to recover or oil prices to drop. The 2000 Capital Campaign has resulted in many improvements to the church’s physical plant. We need to continue to fully fund our budget to ensure the church’s physical plant and equipment that house our many programs are maintained and remain in excellent condition.

This year’s campaign will maintain the theme established last year: First Parish Matters, because it does, in so many ways, to so many people. Please take a moment, now, or in the near future, to consider ways in which First Parish matters to you and your loved ones. Take a moment to consider what else in your life compares to First Parish Church.

How Does First Parish Matter to You?

Have you made new friends, found a quiet sanctuary in your busy life, discovered answers or surfaced new questions? Have you found a community of support, joy or comfort? What ties you to First Parish? Worship, church school, the Parish Post, pastoral visits, committee work, or maybe the sharing of sorrows and celebrations?

As much as First Parish matters to us, it also matters to many others.

• For example it matters to our homeless neighbors who are guests at the Bristol Lodge in Waltham.
• First Parish matters to people on other continents who strive to improve their condition amid the desperate poverty and disease that threaten the great majority of people world wide.
• Our church matters to members of small and growing churches in West Roxbury, in Michigan, and in Romania, and also to thoughtful, caring interns who give their lives to education for the ministry.

These connections help ensure that First Parish will be known by generations to come. Not just as historical narration and artifacts, but as a vibrant living place that continues to shape a better works in Weston and beyond.

First Parish Matters because… When you need a place to make sense of the world - It is a spiritual community. When you are ready to reach out - It opens a door to service. When you want your children to learn values and traditions - The Church School helps prepare them for life. When you have joys or sorrows to share - Ministers and friends are there to help you.   And you matter to First Parish The strength of our church depends entirely on its members and friends. Other organizations can call on a wide range of supporters including corporate foundations and governments. First Parish can only call on you!