Giving Our Thanks and Praise

What do you mean by Stewardship?

Stewardship is a way of life that is full of gratitude and generosity. Stewardship is receiving God’s gifts gratefully, caring for these gifts responsibly, and sharing them with others in justice and love. Each of us receives unique gifts in life and is called to share them generously to pass these blessings on.

At Holy Trinity, Guildwood we are continuing to make a positive difference, helping people feel connected, resourced, and supported during these challenging times. When we returned to in person worship, we also continued with our online offering (thank you A/V studio crew) so that the good news of God’s love and compassion could still come to you in the comfort and safety of your home or wherever you are. Our food box became a food cupboard to meet the increasing demand for food assistance. Our Media Club was there to help seniors become more comfortable and familiar with the online world. We reached out to the children and young people of our wider community, providing them an opportunity for fun, education and socialization with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and Vacation Bible School (VBS) camps. We continued to educate and advocate for Indigenous Reconciliation and a culture free of bias and racism. Through our Calling and Caring ministry, our parish nurse support team’s visits, and outreach ministry’s special mail box drop offs at parishioners’ homes, mailings, and online offerings of worship, church school, study and fellowship, we wanted to make sure no one feels alone.

Together we have shown ourselves to be a resourceful, adaptive, and creative community who, with the heart of Jesus, reaches out to care for our neighbour, those in need, and each other. Thank you for your generous support of Holy Trinity Guildwood. It is through, with and by you that Holy Trinity Guildwood is living out her vision of being “a Caring, Open-Hearted Community, who Dream, Pray and Work with Jesus for a Loving, Equitable and Peaceful World.”

As we enter our seventh decade of ministry serving the Guildwood community, and now through the internet, points beyond, your support is more important than ever. The gift of your time, skills and energy provides the hands of Jesus that gets God’s kingdom’s work done; your financial generosity funds the church’s infrastructure, the feet, that allow us to get to where God wants us to go; and your prayers incarnate the heart, the love of Jesus, that undergirds all that we do.

Over the past 60 years our community has faced many difficulties, and yet what we have come to learn time and time again is that when we come together in Christ’s name, great things can be accomplished – more than we can ask or imagine.

We invite you to prayerfully consider your contribution to our beloved community of Holy Trinity, Guildwood, and reflect on your giving of time, talent and treasure for the coming year by using the two enclosed Intention forms which complement the narrative budge. You may also find the enclosed Proportionate Giving Worksheet helpful to determine your gift of treasure and the use of Pre-Authorized Giving , and the use of Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG) more convenient for you.

Narrative Budget

This narrative budget is our community’s way of showing how the donations support and partner in the mission and ministry of God’s church at Church of the Holy Trinity, Guildwood. Too often, we look at the church’s line-item budget for this purpose, especially at Vestry. Although a line-item budget keeps track of church income and expenses, it reveals little about how your giving partner is serving the ministry. A narrative budget shows the purposes and goals of our parish and focuses attention on mission and ministry. This Narrative Budget tells our story…the story of the community of Church of the Holy Trinity, Guildwood. Our expenditures include wages and benefits, diocesan allotment, maintenance, property costs, etc., but rather than thinking of these as expenditures, we think of them as investments in ministry, and by God’s grace, as partnering with God in God’s ministry. We are striving to be a thriving and financially self-sufficient parish. When you give to the Church of the Holy Trinity, Guildwood, your donations make a difference in the lives and hopes of others through one or more areas of these ministries.

If flipbook doesn’t work please click here for pdf version of the narrative budget

Time

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We have ministries of:
Worship: Preaching, Lay Assistants, Choir, Musicians, Altar Guild, Livestream Team
Pastoral Care: Parish Nurse Support Group, Telephone & Porch Visitors, Senior’s Ministry & Worship at Chartwell Retirement Residence and Extendicare Nursing Home
Outreach: Food Pantry, Special Community Events – Family Day, Guildwood Day etc., Community Liaisons – Guildwood Village Community Association, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute, Vacation Bible School, STEAM Camp
Education and Nurture: Church School, Youth Ministry, Bible Study, Discipleship, Environment, Spiritual Practice inci Prayer & Meditation
Evangelism & Hospitality: Greeters, Ushers/Sidespeopie, Concerts
Administration & Stewardship: Grant & Report Writing, FaithWorks, Church Finances, Communications, Property Fundraising inci. Bazaar, Yard Sale
Fellowship: Baseball, Book Club, Movie Club, Dinners, Social Events such as Parties, Potlucks, Teas

All are welcome. You are welcome. As an organization dependent on volunteers, what does one do when more than half of the volunteer force is not present? And if by God’s grace a small core can take on the work – how long is the pace sustainable? The wardens, Denise and Stephen are so grateful for those who despite the pandemic continued to volunteer (while following all safety protocols). Thank you for your goodness! Without your generous gifts of time, skill, and energy Holy Trinity Guildwood would not have been able to respond to the challenges of the pandemic so successfully.

Treasure

YOU GET 40% OF CHARITABLE DONATIONS BACK! For every dollar you donate to a charity over $200 you get 40% back. (For the first $200 you donate to charity, you get 20% back.) Like everything else in this life, charitable donations have tax implications. They generate a reduction in total tax to be paid – much better than having a deduction from income – when it comes to filing your tax return. The other thing is that there are two calculations involved – one for federal purposes and the other for Ontario and in both cases the credit related to the first $200 of total donations combined for all the charities you support is at a lower rate, approximately 20% when you combine the federal and provincial allowances. The combined effect generated by the donated amount over and above the $200 total is a reduction of tax payable of just over 40% of the donation amount.Investing in Our Ministries

Our parish has six major areas of ministry:
Parish Life & Fellowship
Pastoral Care
Education and Faith Formation
Worship and Music
Outreach
Evangelism

Talent

VESTRY REPORT

The Parish Leaders and Church Office have finished work on the final copy of our Annual Vestry Report. Please click here to download your own copy. This booklet includes the reports from all parish leaders and groups for activities in 2023. The report also includes a financial report for 2023 and our proposed budget for 2024. This document contains the agenda and all materials for our Annual Parish Meeting.

Please see the Vestry 2024 Social Justice Movement Package: Social Justice Motion Package

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