2010 Pledge of Support

Dear Family of Atonement:

I hope that this letter finds you in the full blessings of God’s love!

As the fall is upon us, it is that time of the year when we prepare for winter and for Advent. It is also the time of the year when we prepare the Church’s budget. Our budgets tend to focus on the day to day operations of our Church.

Because we are human, “today” gets our attention. Sometimes it is difficult to plan for a “tomorrow” or a “future”. I’m hoping you’ll join me in taking care of today’s needs, while laying the seeds for tomorrow’s dreams.

Now, let me speak to you about our Church budget and the important role you play.

Our budget is based on a simple premise: We are members of the Church of Atonement and of the community. Neither stands alone. And, both need support.

Our plans for the coming year are full of aspirations. We want to welcome the community, maintain our day to day operations, plan for tomorrow, and protect the rich architectural heritage of our church home. We are seeking support that will allow us to do two things: run the church and expand our outreach.

By the numbers, we are seeking total pledges of just over $509,000 to cover expenses in the same amount. This is about 11% more than last year. This increase reflects our parish’s desire to balance our budget in order to avoid tapping reserves. The increase in pledges will also allow us to expand outreach, to complete more timely repairs on our church home, and to ensure the ability to be good stewards of all of our resources.

We recognize that we are in tough economic times understanding that some of us are on fixed incomes. Others within our parish family have found themselves unemployed and unable to make financial commitments at this time. It is not our desire to become a burden. Understanding that there are many ways to give within a parish, it is our hope to encourage our parish family to give more as they are able.

We are asking that our new members who have not previously pledged will make new pledges in addition to those who find themselves able to increase their pledges.

More importantly, these additional dollars mean that we are better able to protect our church home and that we are better able to expand our community involvement. The additional dollars will help us to carry God’s message of love to more people, while laying the foundation for our future.

I ask you to pray deeply and consider carefully our request. Our call to action is to ask you to do more—recognizing that some may not be able to meet this financial goal. It will take all of us to make this possible.

With deepest and loving appreciation,

Fr. van Dooren

Sample Pledge Chart

Current Annual Pledge

Plus 5%

Our Goal

Plus 10%

Our Goal and New Pledge Amount

Approximate Weekly Amount (52 weeks)

$50

$2.50

$5

$55

$1.05

$100

$5.00

$10

$110

$2.10

$150

$7.50

$15

$165

$3.17

$200

$10.00

$20

$220

$4.23

$250

$12.50

$25

$275

$5.29

$300

$15.00

$30

$330

$6.35

$350

$17.50

$35

$365

$7.02

$400

$20.00

$40

$440

$8.46

$450

$22.50

$45

$495

$9.52

$500

$25.00

$50

$550

$10.58

$750

$37.50

$75

$825

$15.86

$1,000

$50.00

$100

$1,100

$21.15

$1,500

$75.00

$150

$1,650

$31.73

$2,000

$100.00

$200

$2,200

$42.30

$2,500

$125.00

$250

$2,750

$52.88

$3,000

$150.00

$300

$3,300

$63.46

$4,000

$200.00

$400

$4,400

$84.61

$5,000

$250.00

$500

$5,500

$105.77

$6,000

$300.00

$600

$6,600

$126.92

$7,000

$350.00

$700

$7,700

$148.07

$7,500

$375.00

$750

$8,250

$158.65

$8,000

$400.00

$800

$8,800

$169.23

$8,500

$425.00

$850

$9,350

$179.80

$9,000

$450.00

$900

$9,900

$190.38

$9,500

$475.00

$950

$10,450

$200.96

$10,000

$500.00

$1,000

$11,000

$211.54

CLICK HERE to download the 2010 Pledge Card, then use the print function through your browser to print. Complete the information with your pledge intention and returned by mail or through the Sunday offerings.