Make Your 2027 Pledge Online

Dear Friends in Christ,

As we enter this stewardship season, your Vestry gives thanks for the faith, generosity, and steadfast commitment that have shaped this parish for generations. St. Luke’s has long been a place of worship, welcome, formation, and service—a parish rooted in the Episcopal tradition and deeply committed to serving our community in the name of Christ.

We now stand at an important and hopeful moment in our common life. The search for our next rector is underway, and we anticipate that this process will be completed early in the new year, 2027. This is a season of preparation—not only for welcoming new spiritual leadership, but for ensuring that St. Luke’s is ready to move confidently into the future.

Part of that preparation requires us to speak honestly and faithfully about our financial responsibilities. The new Cook Hall is a tremendous blessing for our church and our ministries, but the debt associated with it presents a significant challenge. As your Vestry, we believe it is essential that we address this obligation now with seriousness and resolve, so that our next rector arrives prepared for ministry, not burdened by a financial dilemma that limits vision, energy, or opportunity.

This is not a call rooted in fear. It is a call rooted in hope. We have been entrusted with a remarkable parish, a rich tradition of service, and facilities that can strengthen our mission for years to come. By making faithful stewardship commitments today, we help ensure that St. Luke’s will continue to expand its ministries, deepen its outreach, welcome newcomers, care for one another, and serve our neighbors with generosity and joy.

We ask you to prayerfully consider your pledge for the coming year. Your commitment—whatever the amount—matters. Together, our gifts become more than a budget; they become a statement of faith in what God is doing among us and what God is preparing us to do next.

The Vestry is grateful for your trust, your prayers, and your continued support. With God’s help, and with a shared commitment by our parish, we can meet this moment faithfully and welcome our next rector into a church that is strong, hopeful, and ready for the work ahead.

Faithfully, your Vestry:

Rich Snider, Senior Warden	Doug Zahniser, Junior Warden	Aaron Kitchens
Kim Nordgren	Joe Geis	Linda Mann

PURPOSE

St. Luke’s enters 2027 at an important turning point. With the search for a new rector underway, this is the time to prepare our parish for a successful transition—spiritually, organizationally, and financially.

St. Luke’s faces several financial pressures in 2027. Our projected operating income will decline, our pledge base will be smaller, and our parish hall construction loan is a significant financial obligation. The Vestry has responded with a plan that combines meaningful cost reductions with a renewed emphasis on congregational stewardship.

1. UNDERSTANDING OUR FINANCIAL PICTURE

Operating income will decrease by 13%. This reduction reflects the Vestry’s decision to direct the annual St. Luke’s Foundation Grant toward payments on the Cook Hall loan. In past years this grant has been included in the church’s operating budget. While the projected 2027 Foundation Grant will barely cover the payments, this was a deliberate financial decision: the loan carries exceptionally favorable interest rates through 2028. Preserving these favorable terms while making responsible progress on the loan is an important consideration that will help avoid the debt becoming a more significant burden on the parish’s future.

Operating expenses will decrease by 8%. The Vestry has implemented substantial cost-cutting measures to bring expenses into alignment with the reduced operating income, including eliminating the Parish Life Coordinator position and reducing music and communications expenses. Cost reductions alone, however, cannot provide the financial foundation our parish needs. We must also strengthen the resources available to support worship, pastoral care, Christian formation, outreach, facilities, and the many other activities that make St. Luke’s a vibrant community of faith.

2. THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR 2027 PLEDGE CAMPAIGN

St. Luke’s stewardship campaign is central to the financial plan for 2027.

Pledges are expected to decline primarily because of the deaths and the relocation of members of the parish. We remember with gratitude the lives and generosity of those who have been part of St. Luke’s, but these departures leave a smaller base of pledges supporting our ministries. We must encourage greater participation among our members, inviting every household to make an annual commitment.

Our 2027 stewardship goal is $300,000, which is $26,000 above the projected 2027 income of $274,000.

Reaching this goal will require a collective effort. It does not depend on a few members making substantially larger gifts. Rather, it depends on as many members as possible participating in the life of the parish through a pledge that reflects their individual circumstances and their commitment to St. Luke’s.

Currently, approximately 40% of our membership does not make an annual pledge. This represents a significant opportunity. If more members participate, even with modest pledges, we will broaden our financial foundation. A pledge is not simply a contribution to a budget. It is a statement of commitment to the worship, fellowship, service, and ministry that define St. Luke’s.

3. A NEW RECTOR FOR ST. LUKE’S

The search for our next rector is an opportunity to look ahead with hope. We want our new spiritual leader to find a parish that is welcoming, engaged, generous, and prepared to embrace the next chapter of its ministry. A sound financial foundation is essential to that goal. The new rector will need the flexibility to develop a vision for St. Luke’s, strengthen its ministries, welcome new members, and respond to the needs of our community. Our stewardship effort is about more than meeting a 2027 budget. It is about preparing the way for future ministry.

4. A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND AN OPPORTUNITY

The financial challenges facing St. Luke’s are real, but they are manageable if we approach them together with faith, discipline, and a shared sense of purpose. The Vestry has taken difficult steps to reduce expenses and address the Cook Hall loan. The next step is for all of us to join in that effort by strengthening our annual pledge commitments. We ask every member who does not currently pledge to consider making a commitment for 2027. We ask current pledgers to prayerfully consider their level of support. Every pledge matters.

PREPARING THE WAY FOR TOMORROW

We should approach this stewardship campaign not with anxiety but with confidence in what we can accomplish together. St. Luke’s has a rich tradition of worship, fellowship, generosity, and service.

We have a valued parish home, a committed congregation, and the opportunity to welcome new leadership. The 2027 financial plan is a focused effort to position St. Luke’s for a successful transition. We are reducing operating costs, addressing the Cook Hall loan, and seeking to establish a stronger base of congregational support. Our task is to build on those strengths and prepare responsibly for the years ahead.

Our goal of $300,000 in annual pledges is both a financial objective and an expression of our shared commitment to St. Luke’s. Achieving it will help the Vestry plan responsibly and provide our next rector with a stronger foundation for ministry.

OUR FINANCIAL STRATEGY for 2027 is not limited to reducing expenses and increasing annual pledges. It also includes making better use of the resources God has entrusted to St. Luke’s. The new Cook Hall offers an important opportunity to strengthen our financial future while expanding our presence in the North Dallas community.

St. Luke’s is already more than a Sunday congregation. Park Cities Day School, Scout Troop 577, the Church Music Institute, the Episcopal Foundation of Dallas, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Abbey in the City bring people to our campus, provide additional revenue, and introduce our church to a broader community. The Plaid Door, our longstanding resale shop, has also provided direct financial support to the parish for decades.

Cook Hall can build on this foundation. By making the facility available for receptions, meetings, educational activities, and other appropriate community programs, we can develop an additional source of revenue while positioning St. Luke’s as a welcoming community center in North Dallas.

A vestry committee is developing an aggressive marketing strategy to increase awareness of Cook Hall, attract appropriate users from the community, and generate revenue that helps support our parish and address the financial responsibilities associated with the building.

This opportunity is important for two reasons. First, it can help Cook Hall contribute more directly to its own financial sustainability. Second, it can expand St. Luke’s relationships with individuals and organizations that might not otherwise encounter our parish.

We should be realistic: creating a Community Center at St. Luke’s will require planning, effective marketing, careful management, and time. We should not assume that rental income will immediately resolve our financial challenges. But Cook Hall gives us a tangible opportunity to build new revenue and broaden our community presence.

Our 2027 stewardship campaign supports this larger vision. We are not simply trying to balance a budget. We are preparing St. Luke’s to fulfill a larger vision of ministry, community engagement, and financial sustainability.