November 11, 2021

Our season of stewardship must first and foremost begin with a note of gratitude. This is an exceptional church family, composed of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and across the theological spectrum. Yet we come together like pieces in a puzzle, building a better world. You do this with your time, your talent, your treasure, and your generous and gentle hearts. Thank you for everything you bring to our shared table.

In March of 2020, Shadow Rock suspended our in-person services as Covid spread across the United States.  At that time, no one could foresee how long this impact would last.  We were quite literally thrown into “perceiving and responding to God’s newest thrust”.

Church leadership decided to not formally adopt a 2020 budget due to so much uncertainty.  The budget process was also suspended for 2021 as we still had many unknowns, particularly what amount might be forgiven from the first draw Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan awarded in May of 2020 and whether we would qualify for and receive a second PPP loan.

We have entered a new normal, co-existing with Covid.  As such, we have begun resuming activities the same as before, but different. The 2022 Stewardship Budget campaign is no exception, we will be creating our budget based on pledged income.  This year we are going to leverage technology to expedite the process.

I’d like to provide some things which are different in 2022 from our last approved budget in 2019.  We celebrate that PPP #1 was forgiven in full by the SBA in September of 2021.  We will be applying for forgiveness of PPP #2 in early December and are hopeful it will be forgiven in full as well. The preschool capacity has been self-limited for the health and safety of our staff and families.  Merkaz Ha-iyr is no longer meeting at Shadow Rock, but we have a new partnership with Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM).  Although most of our expenses have
not changed, the costs of utilities, insurance, supplies, and services have increased. Due to our faithful sustaining givers at Shadow Rock, donations did not decrease dramatically during
Covid.  We thank everyone for your continued support.

As you consider your financial commitment to Shadow Rock, please think about increasing your current giving if you are able, or if you have not completed an estimate of giving in the past, consider completing the form this year.

We ask that you return your Estimate of Giving for 2022 using this form by Sunday, November 21. I will be compiling responses and will use this as the basis for our 2022 Budget Campaign.

Thank you for all you do as we look forward to “A Future with Hope”.

Heidi,

on behalf of the 2022 Stewardship Team
Bob Lee, Heidi Zinn, Marilyn Rampley, Ken Heintzelman

Please don’t hesitate to contact Heidi in the finance office if you have questions about pledging or electronic giving, or would like more information about the budgeting process.