Gift swells campaign funds

Norma Mills, chairman of the Steering Committee for the Grow in Mission capital campaign, reported $751,206 has been raised in the diocese to support campus ministry, seminarians and Grace Point. With the significant pledge from St. Paul-Chattanooga, the total amount communicated at convention stands at $1,251,206. Excerpts from her presentation to the convention follow:

Good morning. I want to tell you what has been happening with the Grow in Mission campaign since this time last year.

We continue what we refer to as the “awareness phase,” which means we’ve spent a great deal of time identifying potential major donors throughout the diocese. After that, we have had a number of awareness events, parties in private homes where we invited these prospective major donors to come and hear about the campaign. … The people who attended these events have shown a great interest, and we’ve had some wonderful conversations about the mission of this diocese.

GRACE POINT 2002: A sewer system has been installed, and a house has been built near the entrance for our Grace Point executive. Director Bo Lewis and his wife, Jan, are living there.

...The summer camp was extremely successful: 137 campers and staff attended. … All the diocesan parishes were invited to come to Grace Point on one of three Sundays. About 800 of you attended.

In 2002, 84 different groups used our facility. ... This has made a total of 1,640 attendees, and in all of this, remember: We offer no food service, no linens, limited bath facilities, and the users have to clean up after themselves. So just think what the potential would be if we have all those services! We think these numbers demonstrate the need for such a place in this diocese.

…With Grace Point, we do now have a place for our living room, and lives will be transformed there. Several of our own priests within this diocese have told us that they went into the ordained ministry because of faith experiences they had attending a church camp. We have the potential here to overcome our clergy shortage.

… In COLLEGE MINISTRY in 2002, the Rev. Chris Chase joined the diocesan staff this summer as Canon for Higher Education. In this position, he is the full-time chaplain for Tyson House at UTK and the Bishop’s liaison with other campus ministers in the diocese, the Rev. Matilda Dunn, here at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and Mr. Chris Harpster at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. … As funds come into the campaign, we will be able to raise the visibility of the Episcopal Church on these campuses and help meet the needs of our college youth.

SEMINARIANS in 2002: As you heard in the video, currently this diocese has seven persons attending seminary for whom we pay medical insurance plus $1,500. We also have three others with special circumstances attending seminary for whom we do not pay these expenses. This campaign will allow us to give more assistance to our seminarians and help curtail their ensuing debt.

… As part of their services to the diocese, RSI has helped four of our churches conduct their own capital campaigns, and nine have participated in the stewardship enhancement program. They will be contributing a percentage of their increased funds to the Grow in Mission campaign.

Campaign volunteers are in the process of approaching individuals who have attended an awareness event to make their gift to Grow in Mission. In the upcoming months, each parish will have the opportunity to do the same.

I hope you will respond by making your pledge if you have not already done so. We need your help.