Fresh at 50: 2027 Stewardship Campaign
“Neither is new wine put into old wineskins… the skins burst, the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into new wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:17 (NRSV)
Consider what the world looked like in 1977. Star Wars had just premiered in theaters, the Apple II personal computer had just been introduced with 4 kilobytes of memory, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion hit bookstores for the very first time, and a church’s “communications budget” meant a pack of printed cards, a roll of 13-cent stamps, and the perfect cursive of a woman named Margaret. Across The Episcopal Church, 1977 saw the first ordinations of women to the priesthood, all while final preparations were made for the “New Prayer Book!”
Right here in Wenonah, 1977 was a year of extraordinary courage. Three separate Episcopal missions—All Saints in Wenonah, St. Barnabas in Mantua, and St. Peter’s in Woodbury Heights—made the bold decision to lay down their separate identities, take down an outgrown 1910 mission building, pool their gifts, and build a brand-new church together: Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Our founders did not try to pour the new wine of a growing community into old wineskins. They built a fresh wineskin for a new half-century of ministry.
As we enter 2027, Holy Trinity celebrates our Golden Jubilee: Fresh at 50! That first fifty-year wineskin has served us faithfully, holding five decades of baptisms, weddings, funerals, outreach, music, and grace. Now that first wineskin has aged, and God is handing us the exact same opportunity He gave our founders in 1977: to prepare a fresh wineskin capable of holding the new wine God is pouring out for the next fifty years.
Why We Pledge: The Theology
& Reality of How Our Parish Is Funded
Every Sunday at the Offertory, we reach the central hinge of our worship—the moment that links the Liturgy of the Word with the Liturgy of the Table (the Great Thanksgiving). As our ushers lift up our gathered offerings, we proclaim together: “All things come of Thee, O Lord, and of Thine own have we given Thee” (1 Chron. 29:14).
In that moment, we are not paying membership dues to a club or merely funding an institution. A pledge is a theological commitment before it is ever a financial one. It is our concrete, tangible declaration that everything we have—our time, our talents, and our treasure—already belongs to God, and that we trust God enough to return a portion of those gifts for the work of the Kingdom.
Practically speaking, it is also important for every member to know how an Episcopal parish works: Holy Trinity receives zero funding from the Diocese of New Jersey or the national Episcopal Church. In fact, as part of the wider body of Christ, we contribute at least 10% of our operating income to the Diocese to support ministry throughout New Jersey. Every light we turn on, every hymn we sing, every outreach meal we share, and every hour of pastoral care is funded 100% through the pledges and offerings of the people in our pews.
As you pray about your commitment for 2027, we invite you to reflect on three ways we share the load:
The Biblical Tithe (10% Proportional Giving): Scripture upholds the ancient practice of returning the firstfruits—traditionally a tithe, or 10% of household income (Lev. 27:30)
Our Shared “Equal Share” Benchmark ($3,950/year): For many families, jumping straight to 10% of household income feels daunting. By contrast, dividing our fully funded $236,500 operating budget equally across our 60 pledging households yields our Shared Giving ("Equal Share") Request of $3,950 per household for the year—which breaks down to approximately $330 per month or $75 per week.
To put that in 1977 perspective: because of 50 years of inflation ($1.00 in 1977 equals $5.51 today), a $75/week pledge in 2027 is the exact purchasing-power equivalent of putting $13.61 a week in the offering plate when Holy Trinity opened in 1977. For some households, this is an attainable step-up goal; for some, your pledge already exceeds it; for others, it may be a stretch.
Time, Talent, and Service: Financial stewardship is never the whole story. Whether you offer your gifts in gardening, singing in the choir, serving at the altar, organizing fellowship, helping with property upkeep, or leading outreach, consecrating your time and talent is every bit as vital to the life of Holy Trinity as your financial pledge.
Doing Things Differently:
Three Best Practices for a Fresh Start
Because we are preparing fresh wineskins for our next fifty years, the Wardens, Vestry, Treasurer, and Vision & Resource Team (VRT) are doing three things differently this year:
Stewardship in the Fall (Not in January): Instead of waiting until the new year has already started to ask what resources we have, we are completing our stewardship discernment this autumn.
A Completed, Vestry-Approved Budget Before Year-End: By gathering our pledges in November, your Vestry can adopt an honest, balanced 2027 budget before December 31, entering our Jubilee year with clarity rather than guesswork.
Zero-Based Priority Budgeting: Rather than simply rolling last year’s numbers forward, the VRT has established a consensus-based prioritization of every major expense category in our budget.
All three of these shifts are gold-standard Episcopal best practices strongly encouraged by our Diocese. They reflect the growing health, maturity, and commitment of our parish, and they give us a clean, disciplined foundation as we step into our next fifty years.
Sober Reality, not "Hardball":
Understanding Our Priority Table
Below you will see the 2027 Zero-Based Budget Priority Table prepared by the Vision & Resource Team. It shows what our parish budget looks like at 100% funded ($236,500), and exactly where decrements would have to occur if our revenue only reaches 90%, 85%, or 75%.
Let me say this as plainly and pastorally as I can: this table is not a threat, a guilt trip, or the Vestry playing “hardball.” It is simply sober, honest reality. Because nearly 80% of our budget is locked into fixed and Diocesally mandated costs just to keep our doors open as an Episcopal church, every flexible ministry we love—our Parish Administrator, Music Director, Deacon, professional cleaning, lawn care, website, altar supplies, and Sunday coffee hour—lives inside the remaining 21% of the budget.
Martin Luther once said, “A theologian of the Cross calls a thing what it is.” As Christians, looking squarely at the truth without fear is never a reason for despair—it is an invitation to faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13).
I am deeply convinced that God is doing amazing things at Holy Trinity right now. We are welcoming new families; our new affinity groups (for women, Tolkien fans, and fantasy sports aficionados!) are thriving; our Deacon’s ministry is expanding our outreach and pastoral care; community groups fill our halls all week long; and first-floor air conditioning is finally becoming a reality. There is a Spirit-led, faithful embrace of the now in our pews because we trust in the goodness and activity of God—and as Scripture promises us, “He who has promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
Our goal for 2027 is simple and full of hope: 100% funding of our $236,500 operating budget. The VRT’s priority table speaks for itself.
How to Participate:
Your 5-Week Campaign Roadmap
Here is how every member of Holy Trinity can be part of Fresh at 50 over the next five weeks:
Make Your 2027 Pledge Online (Launching This Sunday): Our online pledge form goes live this Sunday, October 25, and a physical pledge card will arrive in your mailbox early next week.
Take the All-Parish Survey (Right After You Pledge): Just like the physical pledge cards (which feature a QR code and web address leading straight to our survey), our online pledge form will seamlessly guide you right to the All-Parish Survey upon completion! Please note pledges are submitted per household, but the survey is for every individual member of the parish so everyone can share their voice. (Prefer paper or need tech help? Paper copies and assistants will be available in the parish hall every Sunday!)
Join Us for “Fresh Coffee & Fresh Wineskins” (4 Sundays: Oct 25, Nov 1, Nov 8 & Nov 15, 9:15–9:45 AM): For the next four Sundays before service, grab a cup of coffee and light refreshments and join me for a fun, informal, zero-pressure 30-minute conversation. I’ll walk through how church finances actually work, explain how the VRT arrived at these numbers, answer any questions you have, and share why I have so much hope for what God has done, is doing, and will do here. Each week, we’ll also hear how this church has been a place where God poured new wine into their own lives.
Celebrate Consecration Sunday on Christ the King Sunday (November 22, 2026): On Sunday, November 22, we will celebrate Consecration Sunday on the Feast of Christ the King. Together during the 10 AM Eucharist, we will lay our pledge cards, our surveys, our hopes, and our fears upon the altar and offer them to God. Join us after the 10 AM service for a special celebration as we tally the pledges in real time and rejoice in God’s faithfulness and the generosity of this parish!
Follow Along Each Week: Keep an eye on your weekly emails and Sunday bulletins and stop by the New Wineskin Poster in the Narthex to track our progress together.
A Personal Word on My 10 Years of Our First 50
As I look at that 1977–2027 seal at the top of this page, it hits me with a wave of gratitude that I have now been privileged to walk with you for ten of Holy Trinity’s first fifty years. For a full fifth of this parish’s life, you have let me be your priest, your pastor, and your fellow pilgrim.
Being entrusted with the stewardship of this inheritance—and being called to love and serve you, a congregation I love very much—is one of the greatest honors of my life. I have seen your resilience, your laughter, your care for one another, and your quiet faithfulness when things were hard. If the last ten years have taught me anything, it is that God is nowhere near finished with Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
The first wineskin held fifty years of grace. Now the new wine is rising, the harvest is ready, and Christ is calling us forward. Let’s pour it into fresh wineskins—so that both are preserved for the next fifty years!
In Christ,
The Very Rev. Benjamin B. Maddison
Rector, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
In conjunction with Sam Wilson (Treasurer), the Wardens & Vestry,
and the Members of the Vision & Resource Team