STEWARDSHIP

PLEDGE COMMITMENT

Follow this link to the 2024 Rejoice & Give Thanks Pledge Card(pdf)  which can be downloaded, completed and mailed to the church office. As an alternative to printing the pledge card, you may complete your pledge using the online pledge card below. We ask that you prayerfully consider giving to St. John in the Wilderness in 2023. By pledging your support to St. John’s, you may be assured that we will continue to do our level best to proclaim and minister the good news of Christ Jesus.

Reflect on the abundance that you have received from God. Abundance takes many forms:  it can be the people whom God has placed in our lives; the gifts of time; the gifts of talent; the gifts of treasure – the list can go on and on.  Consider the gifts that God has given each of you.  Then consider how you can use those gifts generously to help St. John’s advance the ministries of Christ.  As Christians, we’re called to rejoice and give thanks, to live in gratitude for God’s blessings while acknowledging the abundance we have received.

Your Rector, Wardens, and Vestry have set a goal of receiving 100% of pledge commitments from our worshiping community.  We pray that all will remain open to letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide us in a faithful response. We pray also that your giving will come from a deep abiding sense of gratitude for the gift of this community, the gift we have in Jesus, and the gift that Jesus directs us to share with others.  We ask you to consider your gift not from a perspective of “what is my fair share,” or even, “what can I afford,” but rather from a grace-filled and grateful heart.  Giving generously gives us strength and hope for the journey ahead.  

We remind you of Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:18-23:

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

What if this parable is not about who receives the seed or where the seed is sown, but is rather about the extravagance of a sower who does not seem fazed by where the seed falls. Indeed, the Sower flings seed everywhere, with holy abandon, and just keeps on sowing, confident that there is enough seed to go around, that there is plenty.  

God has blessed us abundantly, and we are grateful. God has given us everything that we need; we rejoice and give thanks.  And now, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, may we go forward with holy abandon, gratefully and generously giving to support God’s mission through St. John’s.

Faithfully, Harvey Caldwell, Warden      Kathy Smith, Warden       Arthur B. Hancock, Rector    

If you complete your Pledge Card online, you will receive a phone call from our Financial Coordinator to complete the bank information needed to set up Electronic Fund Transfer.

WAYS OF GIVING AT ST. JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS  

Placing a check or envelope with cash in the offertory plate during worship is familiar to us all and is always an option at St. John’s.  Alternatively, you may choose from a variety of other methods for your tax-deductible financial contributions:

Electronic Fund Transfer/ACH

This is our preferred electronic giving method, due to fees. You may arrange recurring transfers of a set amount from your financial institution account directly to St. John’s. Complete the included Pledge Card front & back (also available at the Greeters Tables upon entrance to church) with your information and place it in the offertory plate or mail it back to church. 

Automatic Bill Pay

Many financial institutions offer free ‘bill pay’ service on their checking accounts. Contact yours if you wish to set up automatic giving to

The Church of St. John in the Wilderness

2175 1st St

White Bear Lake, MN 55110-3462

GIVING STOCKS

Giving Stocks can be an excellent way to support St. John’s and may save on capital gains taxes. Send your broker your written, signed, and notarized request to DTC transfer your specified number of shares of stock (s) [with each company name and stock symbol] from your brokerage account number and title to:​

Account Name: St. John In The Wilderness

Account 42723726

DTC 0280

105 New England Pl Ste 280 Stillwater MN 55082

Then email finance@stjohnwilderness.org to advise us of your stock gift, so we can order its sale and request proceeds.