What Does My Annual Pledge Support?

Our EYC Sr. Mission Trip to New Orleans Summer 2008Your annual giving supports all that The Church of the Good Shepherd does for the people of this parish, this community and the world. Your dollars help us in the following areas, listed roughly in order of resource allocation.

Worship. We proclaim the word of Christ through worship and the sacraments, in song and in prayer. About a third of our annual budget supports these areas of worship. We bring parishioners together on Sunday and Thursday for Holy Eucharist; our clergy go out into the community and bring the Sacraments to the sick and aged; and our glorious music program proclaims our life in Christ to the world.

Administration. While the clergy tends to the parish's spiritual life, the parish administrator and office staff make sure that the day to day life of the church flows smoothly. They support the mission and ministries of the church by developing communications for programs, coordinating lay volunteers, and providing record keeping. A church this size could not function without them.

Buildings and Grounds. A church is not just bricks and mortar, but the reality is that without these facilities, we would not be able to offer the ministries that we do. We are stewards of a magnificent historic Sanctuary and a wonderful new Parish Life Center. Your annual giving keeps these buildings running.

Programs and Fellowship. Spiritual growth for children, youth, and adults is second only in importance to worship in this parish. Our Children's and Youth Ministries are growing and vibrant reflections of how the Holy Spirit is at work at Good Shepherd. Our Adult Christian Formation has always had a strong base, and is rapidly expanding as new offerings are added to the curriculum.

Diocese. As Episcopalians, we are part of the wider church. Our contributions to the diocese help smaller mission churches, and support the Bishop and the Episcopal church at large. Good Shepherd is attempting to get back to our full asking. In 2008, this was 9% of our budget.

Worship is at the heart of everything we do.Outreach. As a downtown church, we see daily the responsibility we have to assist this community. But our outreach ministries reach beyond the city limits of Raleigh, and this year even went international. Over the past couple of years outreach has been only 6% of our budget. Our goal is to expand these ministries so we can truly make a difference.

Growth and the Future. All of these areas need your support from year to year. Additional pledge revenue would allow us to accomplish even more. We could add new ministries such a mentoring program for youth at risk; serve as a resource parish for smaller parishes in the diocese; or just undertake some much needed maintenance on the church. What we can do depends on your support.