When you wake up in the morning, let the words of our Sunday service’s final prayer resound in your heart and mind. This day, how do you hope
Through brimming tears, a longtime parishioner recently related just how overwhelmed he was by the outpouring of prayer and support when he stumbled through the fog of a mysterious illness. We know how many children eat lunch in our partner school and how many worshipers receive Holy Communion and how many people learn through our myriad educational offerings, but the positive impact of support through difficult times is impossible to quantify. But that’s why we’re here: God calls us together to love and serve in many and varied ways. We know many worthy causes ask you to give, and we invite you prayerfully to consider placing God’s mission at St. Mark’s first on your list.
$5,000
Two-year-old Reggie
stands on the cushion at the altar rail with hands outstretched. Both hands. I place the bread of Holy Communion in one hand, and then he always pipes up, “Now this one,” and presents his empty hand. So I place another piece of bread in his tiny palm, and he and I are both grinning with the joy of it all. It makes me wonder: what does Reggie know that we don’t – that he’s the only one who asks for seconds? Here at St. Mark’s we cultivate a safe, friendly, open, and inclusive atmosphere for our children and ourselves to wonder, as well as to love and serve the Lord. We participate with God in this mission together, and together we share in making it possible.
– Fr. Adam Thomas
14
Funding God’s Mission at Saint Mark’s
2016 Pledges
53
112 total
Pledges up to $1,300/year Up to slightly more than $100/month
Average Pledge = $2,306 Total Pledges = $258,223
Pledges bet From abou
17
Pledges between $1,300 and $2,600 From about $100 to $200/month
Worship & Spirituality To the right, you will find a snapshot of our budget broken down by overarching category. Many items in the granular budget are split among the categories (the rector’s salary, for example.) Seeing the budget narrated via such categories helps us view our priorities and rebalance them when they become skewed.
31%
Mission & Service
12%
Pastoral Care & Healing
10%
30
tween $2,600 and $5,200 ut $200 to $400/month
Education & Formation
15%
Welcome & Hospitality
6%
Property & Maintenance
26%
12
Pledges over $5,200 More than $400/month
makes learning An empty stomach nearly impossible. Yet this was the challenge facing the children at our partner school of St. Luc’s in Haiti. At least until this fall when our partnership with them introduced the lunch program. Now every child at the school receives a filling meal every day, which fuels their bodies for growth and their minds for learning. Committing to the lunch program is a stretch for us at St. Mark’s, but if we share the opportunity to provide meals for these beautiful children, we will be able to sustain this new commitment for the coming years. Indeed, we can provide lunch for each child for the entire school year for only about $25. That’s it. Money goes a lot farther in Haiti than it does here. On your pledge card, you’ll see a section for donating specifically to the lunch program: this is special for this year only as we get the new commitment off the ground. If you have children or teens at home, you’ll notice that we have included a special pledge card for each of them. This gives them the chance to sponsor a child’s lunch out of their own money if they so choose. And it gives you the opportunity to speak with your kids about the sad reality that children just like them don’t always have enough to eat.
$8,000
St. Luc’s, Mercery
St. Mark’s, Mystic
The year 2017 marks
the 150th anniversary since the laying of the cornerstone of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Can you imagine that? Members worshiping here have seen the rise and fall of the whaling industry, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and the advent of the internet. In that time, countless people have come together in this place to worship, pray, mourn, rejoice, and serve God. We add to their legacy as we look to the future. Our march to a 200th anniversary participating in God’s mission here begins with a first step into next year. Your steadfast support preserves our heritage and propels our hearts towards new opportunities to love and serve the Lord.
$500,000
At St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, we see, name, and celebrate the presence of God in our lives, our church, and our neighborhoods, as we partner with God in mission. Together we go out into the world in peace, with gladness and singleness of heart, strengthened and encouraged to love and serve the Lord.
Saint Mark’s episcopal church mystic, connecticut