Most stewardship campaigns remind people that you are caretaker not only of your money and how you spend it, but also of how you use your time and talent. At St. Mary’s we are exceedingly blessed by the volunteers who give generously of their time and abilities to forward our mission. Whether that is by caring for our building and grounds, hosting fellowship, planning for outreach or serving in ministries, we are an active group. When I wanted to thank everyone involved in Strawberry Fest this year, I ended up emailing the entire parish!
Some of the in kind donations we receive include:
- General In Kind Donations valued at $2,837.40
- Donations to support flower costs ($1661 in 2022), as well as an in kind donation of arranging the flowers (valued at $3120).
- 100 hours spent mowing, edging and caring for our lawn.
- At least 120 hours of weeding, watering, trimming and tending to our flower beds.
- At least 100 hours of weed pulling, mowing, sawing and burning on our prairie
- 50 hours of handyman work around the buildings.
- Donations to the Discretionary Fund ($9,981.91 in 2022 and $3,043.76 so far this year)
- A new Gospel Book Cover valued at $800.85
We are also a parish that takes Outreach seriously. Here’s our outreach from 2022:
- Lent Outreach – $4,145 to support an Afghan Family in Kenosha
- Good Friday – $1,276 sent to the Episcopal Church in the Holy Land
- Easter Offering – $1,218 to the Kettle Moraine Food Pantry
- Easter Offering – $1,218 to the Lake Area Free Clinic
- Easter Offering – $1,218 to the St. Mary’s Discretionary Fund
- Strawberry Fest – $8,261.15 for the Haiti Partnership
- Summer Outreach – We filled our donation bin with underwear, socks & bras to donate to the Hospitality Center
- August Outreach – we collected school supplies and a $645 donation for Family Promise
- October Outreach – College Care Packages for student parishioners
- Winter Outreach – we gathered several trunk-loads of winter clothing for Hope Center
- Thanksgiving – we bought groceries for three local families’ Thanksgiving meal as well as $400 in food cards
- Thanksgiving – we donated $50.76 donation to the Kettle Moraine Food Pantry
- Advent Giving Tree – we collected gifts and $230 in donations for Lad Lake
- Christmas Offering – $1,242 for Lake Country Cares Cab
- Christmas Offering – $1,242 for Wisconsin Humane Society
- Christmas Offering – $1,242 for the St. Mary’s Discretionary Fund
St. Mary’s Mission Statement states that “We celebrate faith in Jesus Christ through worship, support of one another, and service to others.” St. Mary’s takes that support and service seriously, and it is a pleasure and an honor to worship and minister with you all.