“O Lord, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:8)

Brothers and sisters-in-Christ,

We are confident that everyone who reads this is unanimous in their love for St. George Cathedral; not only as a community, but also as a physical Church Temple. Having said that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your ongoing commitment and dedication to the Cathedral.  We rely on each, and every one, of our parishioners to help us continue providing a place for fellowship, religious education, spiritual healing, prayer and worship.  In the world of charitable organizations, however, all is not well and we are not immune from these economic problems.  Ironically, as times get increasingly difficult, charitable giving diminishes instead of growing.  Difficult times are those times that giving to charitable organizations should increase, but sadly that is not the case.  Our Parish Stewardship has not been growing for a few years now, which results in an ever increasing deficit.  For 2009, without factoring in the hard work and fund raising of our organizations, this deficit has reached $80,000.  Since we continue to look to our organizations to help underwrite the budget, we will face an end of year deficit of $30,000 for 2009.  Ironically, that $30,000 deficit is the exact amount that our Stewardship Decreased in 2009.  Your Parish Council is well aware of the conditions that the parishioners face.  Remember, we are parishioners too.  However, there is more that we can do, and we ask this from the viewpoint of the Biblical mandate which should govern our giving to charity.  God actually challenges us to bring a full tithe (10%) to His House.  In order to help our parishioners move in that direction, we refer you to the Table below.  We have taken the initiative to recommend giving amounts in the 3% and above range.  God willing, you will respond accordingly.  Remember, no one is asking you to do any more than you can, but we are asking you to do your best.  We are doing everything possible to weather this economic storm.  The question that the entire Parish needs to pray about and respond to is “Are we doing everything we can in order to show our love for His House.  Remember that our Lord says “to whom much is given, of him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48)  We have been given so much.  Please respond prayerfully and accordingly.

Thanking you, in advance, we remain

In Christ,

Fr. Michael Abdelahad

Steve Husson, President