2025: Abound in Hope
Annual stewardship campaign
In his closing remarks to the church in Rome, Paul concludes his teaching section with the above blessing, praying that the church would be filled with “joy and peace in believing” and “abound in hope.”
As we enter a new year, there is much “joy and peace in believing” from 2024:
We added a deacon to our ministry team, welcome again Jane Carol and her husband Sam!
We welcomed more new families to HT (now totaling almost 30 in the last three years)
We saw a 14% increase in Sunday attendance and a return to pre-pandemic levels of participation on Sundays and major holidays.
Children now make up almost one-third of our weekly attendance.
We brought the church property up to current standards for fire safety (including a state-required monitored alarm system in the undercroft)
We increased our community engagement with various groups within Wenonah.
We continued to offer consistent, robust, and high-quality worship.
Filled with joy from 2024, 2025 will be a year to “abound in hope!” Holy Trinity is alive and thriving and there’s even more we’d like to see and do in the future:
Establish affinity groups within the parish, especially for families with children, men & older adults.
Reinvigorate our partnerships in mission with Kitchen of Hope and Family Promise.
Begin to plan for refurbishing and updating our undercroft to meet the needs of our church and community today.
Find new ways to invite, welcome, and connect new members to our church family.
God has and continues to bless us in innumerable ways. We abound in hope even more because of it!
If you’re new to Holy Trinity, you might be wondering how we manage to accomplish (and pay for) all these things! This is where “stewardship” comes in! Stewardship is a belief and commitment that everything we have comes from God, the “giver of all good gifts,” as St. James says. Stewardship is a chance to give back—giving generously and faithfully as we have received. It is a historic tradition to offer a “tithe” to the church: 10% of one’s annual gross income.
If this is a new concept for you, 10% might seem insurmountable. This year, we’re offering a new way to think about pledging that might be more helpful! To accomplish our goals and to meet (and even EXCEED) our budget of $215,000, we are prayerfully asking you to consider a pledge of $3,000 in 2025. If our budget is divided evenly among everyone who regularly gives to Holy Trinity, this “equal share” pledge totals $3,000 per family, or about $250 a month—a similar cost to a cell phone, cable bill, or one meal out a week.
Would you prayerfully consider a pledge to Holy Trinity’s annual campaign? If yes, please fill out and return the pledge card (or fill out our online pledge form) before January 25, 2025. If you have any questions about pledging to our campaign, please contact me at rector@holytrinitywenonah.org.