Stewardship Temple Talk by Mark Bergherr, St. Luke’s President-Elect

While I am no Barb Roberts when it comes to speaking on the subjects of stewardship and giving, Rob nevertheless asked me to address you, and how do you say no to Rob?

But why now? And why so soon after the New Year?

I little background: The current Capital Campaign was created in 2020 and launched after a Covid-related delay in 2021 to take care of some badly needed items, namely the new boiler, the new roofs and our current live-streaming capability.
But now it’s time to tackle the mortgage, which is $165,500 per year. That’s about $14,000 per month! By the way, our mortgage payoff date is July, 2031 at the current rate. Now, our Building Fund Income budget for 2023 is $130,500, which includes both Building Fund pledges and Special Gift Fund pledges. Despite our generosity, if you do the math, we still face a “funding gap” of $35,000 per year to pay the mortgage.

And that’s why I’m standing here today.

Many of us pledged a monthly or quarterly dollar amount to the Special Gift Fund over the last two years of the Capital Campaign. Question: If you’ve become “habituated” to those payments, why not pledge to continue those Special Gift Fund offerings in 2023 … and maybe even beyond … to help offset that “funding gap” of $35,000 per year.

Let me add, however: Though technically “house poor,” please know that the church is on firm financial footing overall. Still, think of the additional good works we could fund without having to pay a mortgage!

In addition to Special Gift Fund offerings, I’d like to briefly mention Legacy giving.
I’m blessed to give two ways:

First, I was fortunate to share my parents’ gift to me with St. Luke’s, and I’ve directed the church to use it to supplement the Building Fund Income in equal annual payments. I like the idea that Mom and Dad are still making a contribution to St. Luke’s. Knowing how much they loved you and this church, they would be very pleased indeed.

Second, my Legacy Bequest form is on file in the church office. If you aren’t familiar with the form, there are copies at the information desk in the narthex. Mine includes the instructions I’ve left for my personal representative to remit a certain percentage of my estate, which really belongs to God, to St. Luke’s. As written in Psalm 24: 1 - “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” I’m confident that future church leadership will see fit to put my memorial gift to good use, whether for current budget or future needs.

Not having a family of my own, I find comfort in knowing that I’ll be taking care of my St. Luke’s family during our second century of making Christ known to the world.

So, in conclusion, please prayerfully consider extending the term of your Special Gift Fund pledge and/or making a Legacy Bequest to St. Luke’s.

Thank you for your attention and may God Bless.

Annual Meeting will be this coming Sunday,
January 29, 2023, at 11:15 AM, in the sanctuary and online.
A link for the Annual Report will be in this Thursdays E-News, and is also available to be picked up in the office on Thursday or at the Information Desk on Sunday morning. A link to attend the Annual Meeting online will be available on our St. Luke’s Website Sunday morning prior to the meeting. http://stlukesbloomington.org

Year-End Statements were mailed on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.