Written by Rev. Jane Siebert
Dear Friends,
My final ask —
With only seven months left in my presidency, I am writing with thankfulness for your past gifts to the Swedenborgian Church of North America, and to ask for consideration of a gift for our future. As I think about the joy of giving, I share these words:
We give.
We give because we can.
We give because we care.
We give because we appreciate our Church.
We give, looking back at what our Church has given us.
We give, looking forward to what might be the future of our Church.
We give, looking inward as the Divine fills our hearts and leads us to give.
This is a reminder how your gift helps and where it goes:
- Supporting our mission churches, like the Garden Church, the Korean Church, and Church of the Southwest Desert.
- Investing in retreats and camps for our Youth. In 2021 we raised an additional $6000 during our Virtual Convention for each camp: Almont, Fryeburg, and Paulhaven.
- Salaries and expenses for our outreach ministries, like the online community Spiritual Sunshine, the Messenger, Our Daily Bread, and the Swedenborgian Church Youth League.
- Helping churches that have a special one-time need, like boilers breaking down, roof leaks, or cancelled rentals due to the pandemic. In 2020/2021 we distributed an additional $68,000 in pandemic relief to churches and individuals.
- New initiatives and ideas to promote ministries, like additional audio/visual equipment and advice from our A/V consultant on how to serve our virtual members and in-person church. This year 15 churches asked for help and $12,000 was given for matching funds for A/V equipment.
- And of course, the salaries for Central Office and President. To note: only the president receives a full-time salary. All other employees are part time, and many have another Swedenborgian ministry they serve.
A friend from another denomination mentioned that we are lean at the top and that is true. We are still deeply blessed by our many volunteers that are committed to the Swedenborgian Church of North America, our local churches, and our camps.
Thank you all for your support as I did my best to lead our denomination through a difficult and arduous time,
Rev. Jane Siebert
