“Increase our faith!” the apostles said to the Lord in Luke 17:5.
Our faith calls us to be grateful for God’s gifts, to be good stewards in what God has shared with us, and to trust that God will continue to provide.
Pledging Members of St. Bart's
We ask that each person in our community become a pledging member of St. Bart's. We understand that part of our commitment to our spiritual practice is helping to support our community financially.
Our operating budget is directly funded by membership dollars which means that your pledge directly impacts the programs and services at St. Bart's.
When you are ready to become a member or if you'd like to make a one-time donation, please contact Mike Hefty, our Pledge & Income Bookkeeper.
Mike can be reached by calling the church office 503-644-3468 or by emailing mikehefty@comcast.net
What is a pledge?
A pledge is a statement of intent to financially support the ministries of
St. Bart's.
In our tradition, this is an important spiritual practice that acknowledges your gratefulness to God and your support of your community.
When you budget for your giving, you make conscious choices about spending your money in ways that reflect your faith and values.
Receiving your pledge allows our Vestry, the church’s governing board, to plan wisely on how to use our resources in support of the mission and ministry to which God has called us.
The Vestry creates an annual budget based on the total amount pledged to the church.
While plate offerings are important to the parish, your pledge lets the Vestry plan more accurately for the ministry we can accomplish.
How much should I pledge?
Determining the amount of your annual pledge is between you and God.
However, as you make this important decision, reflecting on your faith and values is beneficial.
Additionally, the only way we are able to support the ministries of St. Bart’s is through pledges like yours.
What is a tithe? What does the Episcopal Church say about tithing?
A tithe is 10% of your income.
At its General Convention since 1982, the Episcopal Church has affirmed the tithe is the minimum standard for giving and encourages its members to tithe or be working toward a tithe.
A tithe may sound like an unattainable goal to begin with, but if you start with a certain proportion of your income and increase the percentage each year, you will be tithing in a short time.
You could start with 5%, a half tithe.
Another option is 2.5%, which is equivalent to pledging the first hour’s pay of a 40-hour workweek.
Pledging online and privacy
When giving online, your information is held securely by Vanco Payment Solutions.
This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions or payments.
You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled.
Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be canceled.
If you have any problems or questions related to this, pledging, please contact our Income Bookkeeper & Pledge Bookkeeper, Mike Hefty.
Mike can be reached by calling the church office 503-644-3468 or by emailing mikehefty@comcast.net