The parable implies more than that about our relationship to possessions and to financial security. In a word and contrary to our aquisitive culture, none of it belongs to us in the end or, for that matter, in the beginning. From the beginning we were made to be the creatures who care for God’s good creation for the sake of all of creation. This means we are stewards and not possessors of what we accumulate.
In Scripture God’s people expressed their vocation of stewards by regularly returning to the community of faith 10% off the top of what they had. It was a way of ordering their personal lives toward God and the needs of others before themselves. At that time, this came in the form of produce. In our times, pledging our financial resources to the work of the church is the usual means of tithing, of giving 10% of your household income to the church in gratitude for all that has been given to you by God. Most of the members and friends of this congregation are growing toward a tithe. To help you think about what that might mean in your life, we offer the following chart. If each household in the church grew their annual giving by 1% of the household income each year, we would be a church of tithers within the decade. This would enable us to cover the basic costs of being the church and to increase our outreach ministry exponentially.
Proportional Giving
Weekly Commitment as % of Income
Annual Income
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
$25,000
$5
$10
$14
$19
$24
$29
$34
$38
$43
$48
$50,000
$10
$19
$29
$38
$48
$58
$67
$77
$87
$96
$75,000
$14
$29
$43
$58
$72
$87
$101
$115
$130
$144
$100,000
$19
$38
$58
$77
$96
$115
$135
$154
$173
$192
$125,000
$24
$48
$72
$96
$120
$144
$168
$192
$216
$240
$150,000
$29
$58
$87
$115
$144
$173
$202
$231
$260
$288
$175,000
$34
$67
$101
$135
$168
$202
$236
$269
$303
$337
$200,000
$38
$77
$115
$154
$192
$231
$269
$308
$346
$385
$225,000
$43
$87
$130
$173
$216
$260
$303
$346
$389
$433
$250,000
$48
$96
$144
$192
$240
$288
$337
$385
$433
$481
$275,000
$53
$106
$159
$212
$264
$317
$370
$423
$476
$529
$300,000
$58
$115
$173
$231
$288
$346
$404
$462
$519
$577
Our theme for this year’s Stewardship campaign is “Hope in Action.” It represents two vital parts of our life together at PCCH, and two parts that depend on each other in ways we may not always appreciate.
First, the Hope.
Our hopes from a year ago have been rewarded by the addition of our new pastor, Ellen Williams Hensle, who has brought joy, energy, and new direction to our congregation. We are very lucky to have her. Our hopes now turn to adding a new associate minister to our staff in the coming months, and to sustaining our Christian education program, our inspirational music and arts program, and our mission outreach.
But in tumultuous times like these, we think about why our community needs PCCH as well as why PCCH needs our money—and how these two are related. Our material gifts are obvious: the money and time we give to our mission partners at Face to Face, Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry, West Kensington Ministry, and elsewhere. These gifts will become even more important in the coming year as federal grants for our partners are eliminated or reduced.
More than that, though, we hope that a vibrant PCCH can show an anxious world the joy of God’s love at work in our lives. It can provide a place of hope for those who are worried about where their next meal is coming from, or whether they will have a roof over their heads. Our community can provide solace for the hurting and inspiration for the weary. Though we can’t control what happens around us, we can do as much as possible to provide support, care, and witness.
Now, the Action.
This part is always a little uncomfortable, but it is time to speak some difficult truths. Our session set an optimistic congregational response budget of $605,000 for the 2025 fiscal year’s budget. We fell far short of this amount. Pledges we hoped we could count on have not come through yet. If we cannot make up the deficit by the end of the year, we will be forced to dip into our endowment. It is hard to believe, but our members today pledge less in total than they did in 2016, while costs have continued to rise.
Many of you continue to give with great generosity, increasing your pledge each year towards a tithe (traditionally 10% of one’s income). But others have cut back on your pledges, some put donations in the offering plate instead of pledging, and some have stopped giving altogether. Approximately 80% of our church’s budget now comes from just 20% of our members. Obviously, this is not sustainable. The best way to strengthen our church community is to start correcting that imbalance. Here are some actions we can take to achieve this:
- If you have been pledging, we thank you and we ask you to consider increasing your pledge for 2026. If every pledging household increased their pledge by $500, we would make up our current shortfall.
- If you have not been pledging, we implore you to start. If you have stopped pledging, we implore you to resume. Start small if you must, but make a pledge.
- Finally, if you have been putting cash in the offering plate but not pledging, we ask you to please fill out a pledge card this year. We appreciate your gifts, but our session cannot set a budget without having a firm sense of what our members have committed to giving.
Next year, PCCH will commemorate its 175th anniversary. Every one of us here has inherited a legacy from the saints in this congregation who came before us. It is our turn to sustain that legacy and to pass on one that is even stronger to our children and their children.
In a few weeks, you will receive your annual PCCH pledge card in the mail. Please bring it to church on Commitment Sunday, November 16, and join your friends and neighbors in continuing PCCH’s legacy. Turn your hopes for this church and this community into action.
With blessings—and with hope,
Matt Eastman (chair), Mark Bernstein, Jim Lutz, Laurie Menyo, Diana Rodgers, Sandy Sherwood, and Taylor Slaughter (PCCH Stewardship Committee)
“…those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31