by Nick Bell, Treasurer
The 2026 Stewardship program is a chance to remind all St. Clarians that our freely given time, talent, and treasure enable us to continue and extend the capacity of our mission to worship with joy, grow in faith, and act for justice. At times, our gifts are limited by a shortfall in available time in our lives; at other times we may lack a needed skill or experience.
This article aims to provide background and understanding about the “treasure” part of our Stewardship call to action. We are asking members to complete an Estimate of Giving for 2027, at whatever level feels appropriate. The Vestry, treasurers, and Parish Resources committee use those estimates to establish a budget for the coming year.
An Estimate of Giving is the amount a household will be willing to contribute towards St. Clare’s annual operating budget. This is an estimate, not a binding contract: if circumstances change during the year, the church understands that giving may need to be reduced, paused, or stopped. Even so, regular giving is very important to the Church, and without estimates of giving, our financial planning is less certain.
These are the major elements of St. Clare’s operating budget:
- Salaries and benefits for St. Clare’s full and part-time staff:
- Rector
- Curate
- Music Director
- Children & Youth Minister and assistants
- Parish Administrator
- IT Administration, including streaming for Zoom participants and posting services to YouTube
- Diocesan Apportionment, which is St. Clare’s contribution towards diocesan programs and buildings, as well as the costs of the Bishop and her staff. This tithe to the Diocese is based on the average of the three prior years of financial reporting.
- St. Clare’s share of building operations and management costs. These costs are shared through Genesis with Temple Beth Emeth and are allocated according to the two congregations’ use of the building:
- Salaries and benefits of the Genesis staff
- Utilities, including gas, electric, and water
- Building supplies
- The expenses of our many programs:
- Children & Youth Ministries
- Music Program
- Worship
- Adult Education
- Hospitality
- Parking at the Eastover building for evening and weekend use
- Other operating costs, including office supplies such as paper, printing, and stamps; technology such as laptops and related equipment; payroll services; telephone and internet service; and insurance for St. Clare’s contents in the building
These operating costs are separate from the annual contribution and any special assessments we pay to Genesis for building maintenance, repair and improvements under the BSRP, or Building System Replacement Plan. Thanks to the 2026 Capital Campaign, those commitments should be fully funded for the foreseeable future.
As part of the recently completed and very successful Capital Campaign, a project called the “staffing bridge” will be funded. The staffing bridge allows St. Clare’s to provide fair salaries and benefits for the additional staff needed to support our growing membership with more programs, additional worship opportunities, pastoral care, and educational opportunities.
The staffing bridge also offsets the ending of the grant from Trinity Wall Street towards our curate costs. This “bridge” will contribute to staffing costs (for about three years). During this transitional period stewardship giving will grow to sustainably provide for these costs after we have utilized the available funding bridge.
That growth in stewardship giving to operating costs can start with your estimate of giving for 2027.
Please fill out your Estimate of Giving here: Saintclareschurch.org/pledge