Stewardship & Membership
Saint Sophia, like most parishes in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, depends on the stewardship of its parishioners to sustain the ministry of our church. While some equate membership and stewardship with financial pledges, there is more to stewardship than this.
The concept of stewardship comes to us from the Bible and from our theology. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10). The idea stems from our understanding that every good thing in life is ultimately a gift of God. Our health, time, talents and material resources are blessings bestowed upon us by our Heavenly Father. With this in mind, we believe that as stewards of God’s blessings, we are called to lovingly share a portion of them to build-up His Church and serve His people.
In order to meet our financial obligations and to allow for proper planning and budgeting, our parish relies on our annual Stewardship Pledge Program. The pledge program is described in our parish by laws as follows: A family or individual shall be considered a ‘Steward in Good Standing’ when a filled out and signed Stewardship form has been submitted for the current year, the prior year’s Stewardship commitment has been fulfilled, and is either a Baptized or Confirmed Orthodox Christian. The absence of any one of the three above criteria nullifies the parishioner’s right to vote at General Assembly Meetings. Parishioners are encouraged to contribute to the church as generously as possible.
Click here for the 2013 Stewardship Form.
