Q: How do I determine the financial portion of my Stewardship Commitment for 2012?
A: The financial commitment that you arrive at should evolve from your personal judgment based upon your financial resources combined with a spiritual expression of the gratitude and love for the blessings which have been provided to you by our Lord.
Your annual financial commitment includes your weekly envelope contributions, Pomen and Health donations, and what would have formerly been categorized as Membership dues. You may continue to give for the holidays just as you have and those donations will be considered part of your Stewardship Commitment. Payments to the Church where a service or a product is received in exchange, e.g., candle sales, would not be considered a Stewardship donation.
Q: How do I make payments toward my Stewardship Commitment in 2012?
A: You can choose to make your Stewardship donations weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
You may choose from the following methods of payment in 2012:
If you complete your Commitment Form and either mail it or electronically submit a form before the deadline of December 18, 2011, you will receive a Thank You letter with your personalized Weekly Envelopes for 2012.
If you complete your Commitment Form after the deadline of December 18, 2011 and do not receive personalized envelopes, you will still receive a Thank You Letter with your Steward number. You may use one of the envelopes available in the candle stand. Simply print your name on the envelope so that it’s legible and your contribution will be posted towards your Stewardship Commitment.
You may enroll in your Bank’s online bill paying service. When you make a payment to St. Lazarus online your bank will write a check, credit it to your account, and send it to our Church. In most cases, there are no fees for this service. We will identify your check by your name and post it toward your Stewardship Commitment.
We will be offering a service called Parish Pay. This is a very convenient service, but there is a small fee charged to the Church. After completing a Commitment Form, you will be sent instructions on how to enroll in Parish Pay along with your Thank You letter from the Church.
Q: I will feel awkward if I make my Stewardship donation monthly or electronically and I do not put anything into the basket on Sundays.
A: Not to worry, Parish Pay and the Church will provide slips of paper that you can put into the basket that will identify you as a Steward and someone who makes their donations electronically, monthly, or quarterly.
