2027 Pledge Campaign
“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…”
John 14:2, NRSV
Dear Friends in Christ,
“Plenty Good Room” is the theme of St. Clement’s 2027 Stewardship Campaign. The words come from a traditional African American Spiritual that celebrates the promise of heaven and salvation. At its heart is a beautiful and powerful message: there is room for everyone. There is no scarcity in God’s love, no limit to God’s grace, and no one who is beyond God’s embrace.
“Plenty Good Room” speaks to God’s boundless, radical hospitality. It reminds us that God’s kingdom has space for everyone—space for different gifts, different stories, different ages, different backgrounds, and different journeys of faith. It is a vision of abolishing scarcity and embracing communal belonging. In God’s household, we do not have to compete for a place at the table. The table is already set, and there is plenty of room.
That message of welcome is deeply woven into who we are at St. Clement’s. In our recent Centennial Survey, being a welcoming congregation was the number one characteristic mentioned by our parishioners. We even display the banner that reads, “There will be no outcasts,” words associated with Edmond Browning, former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. Those words are more than a banner on a wall; they express an aspiration for the kind of community we want St. Clement’s to be.
We saw that welcome in a very tangible way recently when 22 new members gathered for our Newcomers’ Dinner. Their presence was a wonderful reminder that people continue to find a home, a community, and a place to belong here. St. Clement’s has a rich history of serving both its members and the wider community, and to list all of our ministries would be almost innumerable. Yet even as we celebrate that history, we continue to find new ways to make room.
Consider just a few recent additions to our ministry.
This summer, we added Vacation Bible School, centered on the theme of gratitude. It was a week filled with fun, friendship, and biblical messages, giving our children an opportunity to grow in faith while experiencing the joy of being part of our St. Clement’s community.
During our “Mind the Gap” campaign, this parish responded with extraordinary generosity. Your financial support made it possible to expand the part-time Assistant Rector position into a full-time position for Father Ryan. What a blessing he has been to St. Clement’s. His ministry gives us the ability to expand pastoral care at a time when the needs of our congregation are increasing, share worship responsibilities, and provide an important safeguard against clergy burnout. By making room for additional ministry, you have helped make room for more people to be cared for, supported, and nurtured in their faith.
And most recently, your Vestry voted to support the Protected Space Program, providing temporary housing for unhoused members of our community. St. Clement’s has committed to fully funding one person’s participation for the entire six-week program. In partnership with Family Assistance Ministries (FAM), this is an extensive program that provides temporary housing, counseling, and social-worker support while helping participants work toward long-term housing and stability.
Each of these ministries tells the same story.
There is room.
There is room for children to discover their faith.
There is room for new families seeking a spiritual home.
There is room for those who need pastoral care.
There is room for clergy to serve faithfully and sustainably.
There is room for the unhoused who need a safe place and a path forward.
There is room for all of us.
This is what stewardship is ultimately about. It is not simply about paying the bills or balancing a budget. Though, those are important too! Stewardship is about making room for God’s work among us. Our financial gifts, our time, our talents, our prayers, and our willingness to serve are the ways we help create the kind of community Jesus calls us to be.
Plenty Good Room invites us to imagine what St. Clement’s can become when we continue to make room—room for ministry, room for children and young families, room for those who are hurting, room for newcomers, room for our neighbors, and room for one another.
As we look toward 2027, I invite you to prayerfully consider how you can participate in this year’s stewardship campaign. Together, we can continue the remarkable tradition of generosity that has shaped St. Clement’s and ensure that the welcome we cherish remains a living reality.
Because at St. Clement’s, as in God’s kingdom,
there is plenty good room
With gratitude for all that you make possible,
Brian Saunders
Stewardship Chair
St. Clement’s Episcopal Church