Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.
Every dollar of your offering will directly benefit the development and upkeep of our facilities
Stewardship funds pay the operating expenses of our Church, including essential cultural, educational, and religious ministries such as HOPE, JOY, GOYA, Sunday School, Little Angels, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Womens Forum, etc. It will also fund Stewardship to our National Church, utilities, insurance, maintenance, snow removal, remuneration, outreach, and items such as supplies and postage.
Stewardship funds pay for the annual mandatory assessment by the Archdiocese, which can be more than 10% of the annual budget.
Stewardship funds also contribute to the payment of salaries for the clergy and the Church staff.
The operating budget expenses this year is approximately $1,200,000.00. Like other nonprofit institutions, our Church operates on a breakeven basis, which means that 100% of revenues are used to pay 100% of the expenses.
Stewardship is based on encouraging each Steward/family to give according to their means.We are all called to give what we can. Our goal is to cover all our operating expenses. In order to meet this goal, each family would have to contribute on average approximately $1,700 annually to cover our budgeted expenses of $1,200,000.
On average, our stewards pledged almost $1,000 per family in 2023.
Our minimum expectation for stewardship is $650 annually (approx.. $13 a week, $58 a month).
Families who register for educational and athletic activities must be active stewards and an expected contribution of $750 has been suggested.
We have historically budgeted 50% of Stewardship to cover our operating costs. We achieved approximately 60% in 2023.
Mostly from fundraising and special events, including our annual Golf Outing and our Super Raffle, as well as weekly donations for candles and trays.
Stewardship is based on encouraging each steward/family to give according to their means. We are all called to give what we can. As noted above, the average annual cost per family to operate the Church is approximately $1,600. On a monthly basis, that is less than $135/month. If you can financially accommodate an increase in your Stewardship, please consider doing so. Even an extra $100 per year amounts to only $8.33/month.
Stewardship should be whatever one can afford to donate based on one’s means.
Families who register for educational and athletic activities must be active stewards and an expected contribution of $750 has been suggested.
We ask that Stewardship pledges and contributions be made as early in the year as possible. This allows us to more effectively manage our expenses throughout the year. In addition, an early start would be an ideal time to consider a monthly payment plan to assist the Church in fulfilling its financial obligations while affording you the ability to space your contribution over the course of the year.
Festival revenues are allocated to the non-operating needs of our Church. These include the completion of construction, capital improvements of the complex and the monthly payment of principal and interest on the Church’s mortgage.
Most fees collected by these organizations cover their own annual expenses (Athletics, HOPE/JOY and GOYA) as well as salaries, supplies, and materials (Greek and Nursery Schools). These groups do generate some funds that help offset operating costs, but these amount to only a small fraction of the facility’s overall operating expenses.