Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC

As most parishioners have come to expect at this time of year, the Chapel of the Cross will soon reach out to ask for your pledge of financial support for the 2006 calendar year. Last fall, the congregation supported an aggressive 2005 agenda with significantly increased giving, enabling the parish to, among other things, add another full-time priest (David Frazelle); to improve our Christian education curriculum and our fellowship spaces; and to draw upon our endowment revenues much less than we'd done in previous years. Your increased giving in 2005 enabled the parish to become more robust and sustainable and allowed us to better serve the spiritual needs of our growing and changing congregation.

As Jesus said, "of those to whom much is given, much also is expected." As you might expect, the plans for 2006 are also aggressive but have a slightly different focus than in 2005. While there will be a continued growing internal commitment to Christian formation, the physical plant, and areas such as the music program (we will enjoy a terrific new organ in the Chapel next year), your vestry also plans to reach out much more into the larger community of which we are a part. The current agenda calls for new investments both locally (the Johnson Intern Program and the good work done in the nonprofit roles assigned to these interns) and globally (funding the Diocesan-recommended Millennium Development Goals, which serve poor people in developing nations and are supported by the United Nations, every nation in the G-8 and virtually every faith community, including the Episcopal Church).

There is much more planned for 2006, and we'll communicate about that with each of you directly and in your various church activities in the weeks to come. We're eager to hear about your hopes and dreams for the parish and we see the Annual Giving Campaign as a time both to enlist your support and to be enriched and informed by your ideas.

The Annual Giving Committee (Lynn Wilson, Terry Johnston, David Ross, and Kevin Trapani) is coming together this fall to work alongside the Stewardship Formation Committee to coordinate the campaign process. You'll hear from folks at each service about the plans for 2006 on October 9, 16, 23, and on November 13. There will also be a vestry forum on October 16, providing an opportunity for public questions and answers. You'll also be receiving a pledge packet by mail in October, which will be followed up by a phone call on October 10 or a personal visit around that time. All of these activities will come together on "In-gathering Sunday," November 20.

We're excited about the plans for 2006 and eager to engage you in the dialogue. The magnitude of the good work the parish has planned will call for a continued expansion of your own financial commitment in 2006, and we will be particularly interested in visiting with those parishioners who have not, in the past, pledged their financial support. We will be depending on those of you in this group to prayerfully search your hearts and find a way to support the activities of the parish with a pledge during this campaign.

Thanks in advance for your support for the Chapel of the Cross.

Send items for inclusion in future "Cross Roads."
The deadline is the first Thursday of the preceeding month.