2021 Stewardship Campaign
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Stewardship and St. John’s: A Time for Regeneration
By Nancy Davis Kho
One of my go-to phrases during the pandemic has been, “What is time?” As in, is today Tuesday, or June, or Halloween? Who can even keep track anymore? Does it even matter?
So if you’re reading the title of this article and thinking “Stewardship Season? Really?” I’m here to factcheck and say yes, indeed it is. Our Stewardship Team has been busy since June (or was it Tuesday?) working on plans for this year’s campaign, and we’re looking forward to being able to share it with you in October.
Early on, we gravitated to the word “regeneration.” We talked about how critical financial support of St. John’s will allow us to regenerate as a community as we face challenges from the pandemic, long-overdue racial reckoning, climate change, and a contentious election. But this year’s campaign is also re: generations, as in, how will our pledges ensure that the church serves ALL generations, for generations to come?
That’s when we came up with the perfect symbol: poppies germinated from seeds gathered in the St. John’s Meditation Garden. Our idea was that, even if we can’t safely gather at St. John’s yet, we can bring a bit of St. John’s to you. Because wherever YOU are, St. John’s is, and we can all nurture and grow our bit of the St. John’s spirit even when we can’t gather in person for worship. We all play a part in St. John’s broader regeneration.
Those poppy seedlings, we decided, would be planted by volunteers and delivered along with your pledge packet after the Cottage Meetings taking place October 8 – 14 (Please sign up here for one of those if you haven’t already!) How perfect!
Well, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how to live in the moment. Initially we hoped to have St. John’s youth and their families come to the patio and plant 200 seedlings, at socially-distanced workstations in family pods and wearing masks, of course.
Then there was a lightning storm. (Time for Plan B.) Then there was a heat wave. (Time for Plan C.) Then the air turned to ash (Time for Plan D, and boy, God, you really enjoy a good joke, don’t you?) Finally, a stalwart group of gardeners (Linnea Adair, Lilah Greene, Judi Carr, and Nancy Everett) overcame all obstacles and got the seeds planted.
But we weren’t out of the woods yet! Sylvia “Poppy Mom” Ahern had organized a group of folks to keep the plant babies watered every day, but the continued high heat and air quality – not to mention a determined and hungry as-yet-unidentified pest – made it a challenge. The plants were repositioned, a few were replanted, more watering volunteer slots were added.
And even as I laughed in horror with every update email I received (Typical subject line: “We can’t plant today due to fire” “Some of the plants have been crunched on by something” etc.) I also marveled at how the whole thing was a perfect metaphor for 2020, and for this pledge campaign. We were overcoming every obstacle thrown at us because we persevered, we held on to hope, and we had faith in our ability to coax forth new life despite all odds.
During last year’s pledge campaign, the St. John’s community stepped up in a big way to support stretch giving goals that would enable us to grow and thrive, funding Rev. Jon Owens’ new role, paying for tech infrastructure upgrades, and more. Little did we know how critically important those things would be for 2020.
I wonder what this year’s pledge commitments will help us overcome in 2021 and beyond, that we can’t even imagine yet?
The Stewardship Team and I invite you to sign up for a Cottage Meeting this month, to learn more about how your giving has and will sustain St. John’s for generations to come, and to bring your questions, thoughts, and concerns to share. And after you attend, look for a (socially-distanced) drop-off of a resilient and well-loved little St. John’s poppy along with your pledge packet. We hope it will remind you to persevere, to hold on to hope, and to have faith in the ability of our church to coax forth new life, with your critical financial support.
By Nancy Davis Kho
One of my go-to phrases during the pandemic has been, “What is time?” As in, is today Tuesday, or June, or Halloween? Who can even keep track anymore? Does it even matter?
So if you’re reading the title of this article and thinking “Stewardship Season? Really?” I’m here to factcheck and say yes, indeed it is. Our Stewardship Team has been busy since June (or was it Tuesday?) working on plans for this year’s campaign, and we’re looking forward to being able to share it with you in October.
Early on, we gravitated to the word “regeneration.” We talked about how critical financial support of St. John’s will allow us to regenerate as a community as we face challenges from the pandemic, long-overdue racial reckoning, climate change, and a contentious election. But this year’s campaign is also re: generations, as in, how will our pledges ensure that the church serves ALL generations, for generations to come?
That’s when we came up with the perfect symbol: poppies germinated from seeds gathered in the St. John’s Meditation Garden. Our idea was that, even if we can’t safely gather at St. John’s yet, we can bring a bit of St. John’s to you. Because wherever YOU are, St. John’s is, and we can all nurture and grow our bit of the St. John’s spirit even when we can’t gather in person for worship. We all play a part in St. John’s broader regeneration.
Those poppy seedlings, we decided, would be planted by volunteers and delivered along with your pledge packet after the Cottage Meetings taking place October 8 – 14 (Please sign up here for one of those if you haven’t already!) How perfect!
Well, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how to live in the moment. Initially we hoped to have St. John’s youth and their families come to the patio and plant 200 seedlings, at socially-distanced workstations in family pods and wearing masks, of course.
Then there was a lightning storm. (Time for Plan B.) Then there was a heat wave. (Time for Plan C.) Then the air turned to ash (Time for Plan D, and boy, God, you really enjoy a good joke, don’t you?) Finally, a stalwart group of gardeners (Linnea Adair, Lilah Greene, Judi Carr, and Nancy Everett) overcame all obstacles and got the seeds planted.
But we weren’t out of the woods yet! Sylvia “Poppy Mom” Ahern had organized a group of folks to keep the plant babies watered every day, but the continued high heat and air quality – not to mention a determined and hungry as-yet-unidentified pest – made it a challenge. The plants were repositioned, a few were replanted, more watering volunteer slots were added.
And even as I laughed in horror with every update email I received (Typical subject line: “We can’t plant today due to fire” “Some of the plants have been crunched on by something” etc.) I also marveled at how the whole thing was a perfect metaphor for 2020, and for this pledge campaign. We were overcoming every obstacle thrown at us because we persevered, we held on to hope, and we had faith in our ability to coax forth new life despite all odds.
During last year’s pledge campaign, the St. John’s community stepped up in a big way to support stretch giving goals that would enable us to grow and thrive, funding Rev. Jon Owens’ new role, paying for tech infrastructure upgrades, and more. Little did we know how critically important those things would be for 2020.
I wonder what this year’s pledge commitments will help us overcome in 2021 and beyond, that we can’t even imagine yet?
The Stewardship Team and I invite you to sign up for a Cottage Meeting this month, to learn more about how your giving has and will sustain St. John’s for generations to come, and to bring your questions, thoughts, and concerns to share. And after you attend, look for a (socially-distanced) drop-off of a resilient and well-loved little St. John’s poppy along with your pledge packet. We hope it will remind you to persevere, to hold on to hope, and to have faith in the ability of our church to coax forth new life, with your critical financial support.
