Our Capital Campaign and stewardship is based on spirituality. Everything we do as a parish family has as its foundation our faith in Christ, even the way we contribute and offer our time, talent and treasure!
In the context of our faith we realize that every gift we possess comes from God. Our very lives are a gift from God. Our talents, success and material comfort all come to us through God’s goodness. There are over forty references throughout the scripture to the word tithe. This is a biblical spirituality based on giving back to the Lord a tenth of all we possess. We are encouraged to prayerfully consider all the blessings we have received from the Lord: our time, talent and treasure and make an offering back to Him. The promise of God is that he will not abandon anyone who serves Him faithfully. We will never go without. Sufficiency is the spirit of the scripture.
How do we determine the level of our generosity? Is it a random sort of thing if we happen to have change in our pocket or time to give and we are pressed into service? The Bible encourages us to begin our consideration by acknowledging all the blessings we have received. Once we have considered and grasped to some degree the overwhelming generosity of God, we are then better prepared to make an enlightened and reasonable decision for charity. If God has blessed us with ten apples, it is appropriate and right that we should offer Him at least one apple. If God has blessed our lives and our family with health, education, income, how can we deny God a tenth of all that we have been given? Uncle Sam will demand a far greater percentage and even the Diocese assesses the parishes to the tune of twenty-seven percent.
God will not be outdone in generosity! St. Paul tells us there is a time for “everything under the sun.” Now is the time for us to build! Electronic Giving Program You can make your offertory gifts automatically from your checking each month with our Electronic Giving Program. When you participate in this voluntary program, your gift is transferred automatically from your checking account each month. This EGP program is designed to address normal offertory collections, parish share and our building fund. It does not apply to special collections, Holy Days, Easter and Christmas. Envelopes provided each month for these collections should continue to be used. A record of each gift will appear on your bank statement. We will continue to post your total donations in our church records and provide an annual statement of your contributions. To enroll in this program, or to find out further information, please contact Ginny in the Parish Office at Ext. 21.
Offertory Collection Offertory collections support all the operating expenses of the church. These include expenses for all staff members, utilities, insurance, Faith Formation and Youth Ministry textbooks and supplies. Our parish is assessed 10% of our annual collections to support Catholic schools in the diocese. Parishioners are asked to use and clearly mark offertory envelopes for each contribution. The annual financial report for Sts. John and Paul showing the past fiscal year and the current annual budget are posted in the church office area and are also mailed to each family in the parish.
Parish Share Program In the Diocese of Pittsburgh, each parish is assessed about 17.6% of their annual collections to support the many necessary charitable organizations that must be operated and controlled at the diocesan level. This Parish Share Program enables parishioners to support the truly less fortunate and needy of the diocese. Please use the beige envelope marked Parish Share in your packet each month to help us exceed our goal. If every family would increase their contribution to Parish Share while maintaining their general offering, this would not only benefit the Whole Church of Pittsburgh, it would substantially increase the financial health of Sts. John and Paul Parish.
Building Fund Campaign In early 2002, the parish completed its original building fund campaign and paid off the debt on our current building. This facility has served our needs since 1994 when we started with 650 families. We planned from the beginning to build a larger church as dictated by future growth. We have now grown to over 1700 families. Soon we will be completing a long-range building plan, which will be followed by a Capital Campaign for a new, larger church. It is hoped that we can count on you!
Finance Committee The Finance Committee prepares the annual budget, addresses the financial needs of day-to-day operations, communicates with parishioners regarding the financial concerns, and oversees the continuing needs of the Building Fund Campaign. View the 2006-2007 Fiscal Report.
Capital Campaign Committee The Parish Capital Campaign Committee is a consultative body established to advise the pastor in matters pertaining to the building of a new church. These matters specifically include the evaluation of the parish needs, defining the scope of the building project, conducting a feasibility study, and the organization of the capital campaign.
