Financial Stewardship
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As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace ~ (1 Pt 4:10)
Who is a Christian Steward? A Christian Steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends to them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord.
At St. Paul's, we are all Christian stewards. We are a community of faith: a people of God who are formed by the New Covenant in and through Christ. Each member of our parish shares in the responsibility for its mission, each is called to practice Stewardship of the Church. We are called to look outward and to place ourselves at the service of the entire community, especially those who are most in need. The Eucharist is both the sign and the agent of this expansive communion of charity.
As a stewardship parish our parish leaders and staff seek out and support parishioners in need and in their involvement in the ministries of the parish. As a community, we encourage each other to develop a closer relationship with God. Consider volunteering and taking part in our existing ministries or suggestioning new activities that will help to expand opportunities for all to use and share our God given gifts.
Genesis tells us God placed the first human beings in a garden to practice stewardship – “to cultivate and care for it” (Gn 2:15). The world and all the creatures in it remain entrusted to the care of men and women for God’s glory and the service of humankind.
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Ways to Give
- Offertory Giving
- Electronic Funds Transfer
- Legacy Giving
- Church Planned Giving
- Wills and Bequeaths
- Gifts of Appreciated Securities
- Life Insurance
- Parish and School Endowments
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At St. Paul Parish, we are blessed to be part of a community that offers us many opportunities to share our faith and reach out to others.
The St. Paul Offertory Envelope Program is designed to help you make a financial decision, based on faith, as to how much you will contribute on a weekly basis. Giving on a regular basis by envelope or electronically enables the parish to better manage current expenses and more importantly, be able to prepare a realistic budget for the next year.
Our EFT provider through Realm and Ministry Platform is a safe and effective way to provide reoccurring doations to St. Paul. Here is the link to use to set up your EFT account: https://onrealm.org/StPaulEllicottC/Give
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St. Paul offers you a convenient option of contributing your weekly offertory through Realm. Contributing to the offertory through Realm yields significant benefits to you and to the parish. Contributing electronically allows you to use a checking; savings account or a credit card to "Give to God First" by contributing safely, simply, and automatically. It also saves you time from writing checks and looking for your offertory envelopes.
St. Paul benefits when parishioners use Realm because the administrative costs associated with offertory reporting are greatly reduced. Another advantage for the parish is that, with an EFT plan, there is a more predictable income flow. This allows us to plan for the maintenance of the campus and keep our primary focus on the mission of serving the St. Paul parish family and wider community. This service is free and you may cancel it at any time. Here is the link to use: https://onrealm.org/StPaulEllicottC/Give.
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There are many ways that families can give to St. Paul Parish to assist in the many ministries of the parish. Please feel free to call the parish office to ask further questions about leaving a legacy of goodness to our faith community at St. Paul.
You can find additional planning information here.
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Charitable gift annuities are a popular way to leave a legacy to missionary societies, universities, and more recently, the parish to which you belong. Gift annuities provide a guaranteed income stream for either one or two lifetimes, in the case of a spouse. Income can be received immediately or on a deferred basis. Compared with CDs or low dividend stocks, it's possible to increase your income, receive a charitable deduction, and make a wonderful legacy gift to the Church.
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Wills & bequeaths are the most frequent form of legacy giving. They can be part of a standard type of will or added to an existing will by means of a codicil. You can specify a dollar amount or leave a residual (remaining) portion of your estate after all other distributions are made. This usually takes the form of a percentage ranging from 10% to 100% of the residual portion.
What is the simplest way to write a bequest? Should you decide to include the St. Paul's in your will, please use the following codicil and forward to your attorney:
“I bequeath the sum of $ ______ or ____ percentage of the residual of my estate to St. Paul Catholic Church located at 3755 St. Paul Street, Ellicott City, MD 21043 for the benefit of St. Paul Catholic Church.
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If you own long-term securities that have appreciated in value, you may prefer to contribute securities rather than cash. In this way, there may be both capital gains tax and income tax benefits.
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Gifts of Life Insurance presents many donation possibilities. You may donate an up-to-date policy, purchase a new policy in the parish’s name and make the premium payments, or name St. Paul Catholic Church as a beneficiary of a current policy.
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Endowment funds are an accumulation of resources that donors choose to maintain intact and in perpetuity; only the income (interest) from the funds is distributed for designated purposes. We have endowments to help ensure the future of our parish and the endowment established for Resurrection-St. Paul School is to provide tuition assistance to deserving students and for the operating needs of the school.
