We believe giving is a spiritual practice just like worship, prayer, meditation, the study of scripture and theology, and service to others.  Giving at St. Margaret's takes many forms.  Here we discuss financial giving, how it benefits our spiritual lives, and St. Margaret's finances.

All spiritual practices are designed to deepen our experience of God's love and eternal truths.  Giving financially has two principle benefits.  Giving, practiced faithfully, teaches us over time that we indeed all are one.  While our bodies separate us, we are one in spirit.  So when we give, we also receive.  Giving teaches us that giving and receiving are the same, just as our scriptures say.

Giving financially also erodes over time our belief in scarcity; our belief that life in this world is a zero-sum game.  When we give lovingly rather than grudgingly, we learn that God will indeed care for us always; that our needs will be met.  Our faith in God's loving abundance grows.

At St. Margaret's we ask members annually to make a financial gift commitment.  Other churches use the term "pledge."  We like the word commitment because any practice requires commitment.  If we want to pursue a prayer practice, we must commit to it.  It we want to realize the spiritual benefits of financial giving, we must commit to it.  A commitment is not a contract.  It is an affirmation of sincere intent.  And our commitments, taken together, allow St. Margaret's to put together sound financial plans.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE?

That's up to you.  The point of Jesus's parable about the rich man and the widow was not to contrast how much each gave.  He was making a point about commitment.

But here is information you may find helpful.  The average commitment by St. Margaret givers in 2012 was $3,163.22, and the median commitment was $2,100 (half of givers gave more, and half gave less).

OUR BUDGET

St. Margaret's operating budget for 2012 is $907,096.  In terms of expenses, we spend the most on clergy salaries, pensions, health insurance, etc., totaling just over $361,913.  Expenses for administrative staff (pay, pensions, health insurance) and office expenses total $134,660.  Worship and music expenses total $113,201; building operations and maintenance $104,909.  We also contribute $97,641 to the Diocese of Maryland based on the size of our parish budget.  Finally, we give more than $100,000 to others in need locally, nationally and globally through our Mission program. But of that total, only $27,228 comes from St. Margaret's operating budget; the rest comes from income off St. Margaret's $4.9 million endowment.  The endowment has been built by the gifts of saints who preceded us.

PRIORITIES FOR 2012

In the fourth quarter of 2011, St. Margaret's hired an associate rector for children and youth.  This position was staffed for a number of years previously, but has been vacant the last several years.  We believe a church our size requires three clergy, and our young people deserve full-time leadership.  This position is costing us $90,000 in salary and benefits in 2012.

We also want to begin replenishing our maintenance reserve fund.  This fund was created a number of years ago to build up monies for anticipated major maintenance and repairs.  But we have not been able to add to it in recent years, and it is now depleted.  We hope to add to the fund in 2012.

And we hope to increase mission giving in 2012.  Our long-term goal is to give 10% of our operating budget to others in need.  Now we give 3%. 

2012 FINANCIAL GOALS

We seek to increase giving $120,000 to pay for the priorities listed above.  That represents about a 15% increase over 2011.