A Place of Springs

Stewardship Committee Chair, John Rooker

Dear St. Mark’s Family, 

Our theme for this year’s stewardship campaign is “A Place of Springs.” In Psalm 84:5-6 we read, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs. . . .” Literally, Baca is a valley in Palestine on the route to the sanctuary of the Lord in Zion. Figuratively, Baca is understood to refer to a place of tribulation or even weeping. For the faithful, “those whose strength is in [God],” Baca is a transformed and transformative place, “a place of springs”—a place that the faithful, with God’s help, transform so that it can be an instrument to transform others’ lives. The stewardship committee hopes that each of you will recognize St. Mark’s as your Baca, your place of springs. A place we can transform and where we can be transformed, so that we can transform the lives of others in the communities we serve. St. Mark’s has been, and I hope always will be, such a place for my family and me. 

What must we do to financially transform St. Mark’s in that way? In short, we need to make St. Mark’s financially self-sufficient, something I understand it has never been. Only recently and in just a handful of years, St. Mark’s has grown from a community that was entirely dependent upon the largesse of a few into a community of faithful who last year gave enough to pay roughly two-thirds of our annual budget. I believe we can and should complete that transformation. Through faithful sacrifice we can unite to do something that has never been done at St. Mark’s. Our goal, over the next two years, is to collectively pledge and collect $650,000 (or more), the amount we estimate we need to pay all our bills. So, over the next two years we need to pledge and collect 25% more than we did last year ($550,000 versus $440,000 in ’23-’24 and $680,000 versus $440,000 in ’24-‘25). To accomplish that goal, we need you to keep that very concrete objective in mind as you prayerfully consider whether and by how much to increase your giving this year. 

Why have we set this audacious goal and what will success mean? We set this goal because St, Mark’s cannot fulfill its mission until we are self-sufficient. Until we can feed ourselves how can we feed others as we aspire to do? If we succeed in this goal, we will be able to use our investment proceeds to meaningfully expand what we do through ministries like Hildegarde’s and The Point to truly transform the lives of some of the neediest in our communities. Also, self-sufficiency is the first step to becoming self-sustaining and by becoming self-sustaining, we will ensure St. Mark’s will be a transformative place for many generations to come. That is my prayer, that together we can leave a legacy for our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and beyond. 

Thanks to each of you for welcoming my family into yours and for making St. Mark’s the wonderful place that it is. Please join us this year in giving more and reaching further so that we can achieve this incredible goal of expanding and extending St. Mark’s capacity to function as a place of spiritual and temporal springs. 

Thank you and God bless! 

John 

You can also read this letter in a printable format on letterhead.