At this time of year, churches are in the midst of the annual stewardship campaign. It's the way the church family shows its financial support for the ministries to be done in the coming year. To those people who have never worked on a stewardship campaign, or served on the vestry or as wardens or counters, the stewardship season and the emphasis on pledge cards for the coming year may be confusing. But I've found that another area equally confusing to people is how exactly the church funds itself, and what is done with the money collected week by week in the plates.

To begin with, a pledge filled out and returned to the church at this time of year enables the budget committee of the vestry to plan the budget for 2010. The pledge returns give an idea of the amount of financial support the church can expect from its members. Some members give regularly but do not fill out and return a pledge card. There is no reliable way to factor this support into the budget for the coming year. The Administrator enters the amount pledged for the coming year in a statement file so the financial support can be compiled on a giving statement for use in figuring out your taxes. It lists the amount of charitable giving, (financial contribution to the church) for the current year. People with envelopes receive the same statement. The budget committee is then given the total pledge figure for use in budget forecasting. This may not be news to you so far.

But the question comes often, what happens to the money we put in the plate every Sunday? Where does that go?

Imagine that you have just placed your giving envelope in the collection plate as the usher has come to your pew. The envelopes and cash are secured after each service, unopened. After the 9:30 am service on Sunday, the secured envelopes and cash are taken by members of the parish who serve as counters and are counted at church. Two counters and sometimes three are present to ensure accuracy of recording and addition. All checks are stamped for deposit only and along with the counted cash, special gifts and collections of the day are tallied on a counter's sheet. This tally must agree with the register tape used in tabulation and the deposit ticket made out and sealed in a tamperproof deposit bag for the bank. The collection bag is taken to the bank's night deposit, where the next business day the bank counts the deposit and notifies the parish that the deposit has been recorded. Meanwhile, the counter's sheet showing the general deposit amount is copied to the Administrator, Treasurers, Wardens and Rector for information. The Administrator enters the amounts from the envelopes in the financial statement record, the treasurer uses the counter's sheet to check against the deposit amount and administer the checkbook. The Wardens and Rector monitor the counter's sheet for anomalies and general information. The counter's sheets do not list individual giver's names.

If you send your check by email or by mail, when it is received by the office, the Administrator secures it to be included in the next week's Sunday count. All pledges and gifts made to St. George's must be recorded and accounted for. It all gets counted, and it is all used in the spirit in which it is given. And in the middle of it all, we remember to say our prayers. -  Fr. Henry