Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Chapter Meeting and I regret that some members could not attend.

It was announced at the meeting that we will begin accepting pledges now for the remainder of the fiscal year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020).  The topic was introduced at the meeting by one of our new novices, Sr. Petra, on behalf of the Finance Committee:

We are asking you to give a prayer for what this community could become. The past year has brought a lot of uncertainty. We are asking you to meet that uncertainty with faith. I don’t know your pledge history. I don’t know your relationship with money. But here is what we are asking everyone to do: if you pledged last year, we are asking you to give that amount again this year. If you are in a position to give a little more than last year, we are asking you to do that. If the economic conditions of this time have impacted you, there is no shame in that, either, but we still are asking every single member to show up for us in some way. We have set a goal of 100% participation. We don’t know what that number will look like in dollars, but we do want to see what it looks like in terms of community commitment. Can we do this?

Note that our appeal is not just about money but about community involvement and commitment.  We are aware that some members have been severely impacted by the effects of Covid-19 on jobs and livelihoods.  If you are unable to contribute financially at this time, consider some way to pledge your time and talents.  At the Chapter Meeting, we identified several areas where volunteers would be welcome, such as serving on the Finance Committee, helping with the newsletter, or helping with Convocation.  I ask that you contact Abbot David if you would like to pledge your time and talents to one of the ministries in the community.

Attached you will find a great article by our own Sr. Brigid about showing our thankfulness to God as well as a pledge form.  The form may be returned directly to me and I will keep all pledges confidential.   Remember, we are hoping for pledges from 100% of the community and we ask that you return your pledge by October 15.

If you have already contacted me, I am including you in this group email so you will have all the information as well as Sr. Brigid's wonderful article.

Blessings,

Sr. Toni Sylvester, OSB
Dean of Finance

<Thanksgiving.pdf>

<Pledge card 2020-2021.docx>