St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Oak Harbor

By God's Grace, All Are Welcome

Stewardship Campaign

September 26, 2021


Dear St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Family,
We are pleased to present you with this year’s pledge commitment form for your prayerful consideration.
As we enter our 2022 Stewardship Season, our theme in this challenging and unusual year is “Stay Faithful, Go Forward.” As you know, we continue to deal with difficult issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic while we must simultaneously search for a new Rector.


Together, these challenges make our pledges for 2022 even more important as a demonstration of our
continuing, faithful commitment to our beloved St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Please take some time over the next few weeks to reflect on what being part of our church means to you and how you will contribute to it.


During this time of emergency, we have remained focused on our parish mission: to worship, love and
serve our Lord Jesus Christ, welcoming everyone, deepening our faith, helping our neighbors, and caring for creation. We have continued our outreach efforts by giving grants to community and national organizations equal to 10 percent of our pledge income, and we have found ways to stay together, work together and care for each other while keeping everyone safe under COVID guidelines. After more than a year of online Morning Prayer services, Zoom coffee hours and telephone trees, we joyously resumed in-person worship in our sanctuary last June – carefully socially distanced and masked. What a thrill it has been to be with each other once again, to chat, to sing and pray, to take communion, and to hear music from our magnificent organ!


Even while we were apart, many of our costs have continued. We have buildings and grounds to maintain
and utilities and other expenses to pay. As we prepare to call a new rector, there will be costs needed to
visit the candidates where there are as well as potential relocation and housing expenses. Your Vestry will prepare a budget for 2022 based on how much is pledged during this Stewardship Season. In 2021, the church received 31 pledges for a total of $127,561. Our goal for 2022 is $135,000. If you did not pledge thisyear or are new to the parish, we hope you will make a pledge for 2022. And for those who did pledge this year, we ask you to renew your pledge and consider increasing it, if possible. Your church needs your support now more than ever.


Please remember that the amount of your pledge is not what’s important; rather, it’s your willingness to
make a commitment. Every pledge is deeply appreciated. The tithe, or 10 percent of annual income, is the Biblical standard all of us would hope to meet. For many, that is not financially possible, but it is a worthy goal to aspire to. In the pledge commitment form, we have included a chart showing how much annual pledges would be at various income and percentage levels.

Once you have decided on your pledge, please return the form by mail no later than October 28 to St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 2754, Oak Harbor, WA 98277. Alternatively, you may email your
pledge commitment to Harry Anderson, our Treasurer, at writeone44@gmail.com. On October 28, we expect to hold an online Zoom pledge ingathering and harvest Taize service. And please remember that all individual pledge information is strictly confidential.


Thank you for your continued generosity and commitment to St. Stephen’s. And thank you for being a
part of our church community. Let’s stay faithful and go forward!

Click Here for Pledge Form


In Christ’s love,

Susan Ho, Senior Warden

Harry Anderson and Mike Moore, Stewardship Committee

Related Information

Ponderings and Proclamations