All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, SC
March 1, 2007
1 LORD, FAITH, BAPTISM
2 the number of times in the life of the parish we have coordinated an annual stewardship campaign with a capital campaign concurrently.
3 year commitment to Cornerstone Campaign.
4 priorities for Cornerstone: debt retirement, funding for an assisting priest, church improvements, local and international outreach.
7 months of coordination, organization, and preparation for the Cornerstone Campaign by the Vestry and leadership team.
12 votes: unanimous financial support by members of the vestry for the Cornerstone Campaign.
13 years to payoff existing debt.
15-20 percent: hoped for response to annual budget through pledges.
45 number of initial leadership responses for the Cornerstone Campaign.
78,000 dollars in annual debt repayment included in All Saints present annual budget.
650,000 dollar budget for 2007.
738,560 dollars in initial leadership gifts to Cornerstone Campaign.
951,000 dollars pledged after the first day of the Cornerstone Campaign.
1 million+ dollars to repay debt over thirteen years.
1.1 million dollars: Cornerstone Campaign goal.
Unknown number of people affected and encouraged by this faith initiative.
Everyone number of people needed to accomplish annual and Cornerstone Campaigns.
1 how many people it takes to make a difference in the world.
0 the number of parishes in the Episcopal Church with an identical vision and mission statement as All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, Diocese of South Carolina.
On the Dominican
Republic
thoughts and reflections from Bonnie and John Gruetzmacher
"God is good, and He sent me to help you" ...
Last summer, ten of your fellow parishioners traveled to the Dominican Republic. Everyone had been there before, some several times, and yet each person brought back new memories of how they felt God's presence in their work. Here ate some of their reflections...
A week full of wonder and challenge. A week full of poverty and promise. A week with so little time and a week with so much done.
Privileged to be with over three hundred children who attended the Vacation Bible School classes in the city and in the barrios.
Pleased to complete the painting of the interior courtyard walls of an Episcopal School.
Able to encounter an amazing number of Dominican adults, children and clergy who blessed us far more that we blessed them.
Honored to meet the Bishop of the Dominican Republic, The Right Reverend Julio C. Hoguin. Blessed to be hosted by Father Sandino, the priest in charge of the church, clinic and school in the city of San Pedro de Macoris.
Glad to see old friends and missionaries from Nebraska, Bob and Ellen Snow, who so ably support the work of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic.
Blessed to be with a group from All Saints that we grew to love, respect and admire.
The Dominican Republic is a place of grinding poverty and amazingly upbeat people. In spite of their circumstances, they are an inspiration to all who encounter them. We came away as highly honored that we had a chance to be with them even for such a short time.
In February of 2006 and again in 2007 small groups of All Saints parishioners went on exploratory trips that coincided with the Diocesan Convention, which offered them the opportunity to see first hand the inner workings of this most dynamic diocese.
We experienced the message that 'God is about taking care of other people' as WE...
Joined with hundreds of laypersons, Bishops Hoguin and Skilton, Dominican clergy and others from across the Church in a procession through the streets of Santo Domingo to attend the ordination of ten new priests and deacons.
Attended the dedication of a new church in Jarabacoa at an Episcopal Camp in the mountain region.
Visited the desperately poor rural community of Angelina, near a deserted sugar cane plant, where All Saints has taught Vacation Bible School for the last three years. We saw schools, churches and medical clinics around Santo Domingo and west to the city of Barahona, where we will focus our efforts over the next three to five years.
Met dedicated clergy and school teachers, saw children at play and in their classrooms, delivered personal notes to recipients of scholarships from All Saints, and met three of the children.
Saw a program in a barrio church that teaches little children in the morning, and provides them with one meal. It is the only meal they will have that day.
Walked on the foundation of La Redenciσn, the church and school under construction in Barahona where we will help the people now worshipping in an overcrowded storefront to have a new place to worship and educate their children. (Barahona is a large port city about 3 hours west of Santo Domingo on the Caribbean coast.)
"I had
to see it with my own eyes, and I wake up thinking about what we are called to
do. It is an 'accident of our birth' that we were born in this country and have
so much here. Bishop Hoguin has given us the opportunity to be effective. It is
my job is to convince as many people as possible to jump in immediately with
financial support and/or people."
John Gruetzmacher
As you reflect on your own mission, in what personal way will God lead you?
To pray for the people, the clergy and their work in the Dominican Republic.
To provide scholarships for tuition, uniforms, and a daily meal for Dominican Children. Education is the way out of poverty.
To physically help as a part of a short-term mission construction team. Labor and construction skills are not a requirement.
To personally meet these beautiful children by helping with Vacation Bible School. Fluency in Spanish is not a requirement.
To help the women of the Dominican Episcopal Church develop a micro-loan and/or cottage industry project.
To be part of developing an All Saints short-term medical and/or dental mission trip for qualified medical professionals.
To see with your own eyes with a visit to the Diocese and the church at La Redenciσn on the annual parish-sponsored survey trip in 2008.
To provide a share of financial support to complete the construction project $100,000 over five years.
AMEN.
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