Pickering church soars past goal

St. Martin, Bay Ridges, in Pickering is named after the saint who was renowned for giving, and the present day congregation has certainly lived up to the name. It has rung up a remarkable achievement in the diocese-wide fundraising campaign, Our Faith- Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church, not only meeting its goal of $170,000 but exceeding it by $104,000.

The secret to the parish’s success? “The Holy Spirit,” says the Rev. Millie Hope, incumbent. “I feel the spirit works through people to encourage them to give sacrificially in all areas — financially as well as sharing their time and talents.”

When she first began the campaign, however, things looked far from bright. People really doubted that a target of $170,000 was achievable. Then the couple who Ms. Hope expected to be on the executive committee to lead the campaign declined. She asked three other couples and, after praying about it, each one turned her down.

“It wasn’t that they weren’t supportive,” says Ms. Hope, “but the time commitment was beyond what they could make.”

She was at a loss what to do but then, she says, “God suggested people that I would not have thought of asking, and we had an incredibly strong team of people who were newer and who hadn’t been involved in something like this. It was absolutely amazing.”

When the team met, they were still not sure they could raise $170,000 on top of what was needed for the general revenue of the parish. But they decided to do what they could.

The first sign of success was the commitment made by the two couples and two single people who, with Ms. Hope, comprised the executive committee. Together, they pledged $55,000.

“People stepped up incredibly,” says Ms. Hope. Every week, the executive committee opened their meeting with a prayer of thanksgiving as the pledges flowed in.

There were other benefits, apart from financial. The newcomers on the executive committee got to know people in the parish, and Ms. Hope got to know things about her parishioners that she might otherwise not have known. For example, she discovered some were having to support their extended families through this difficult economy.

But despite this, people pledged what they could. A 90-year-old parishioner commented that she could not make a five-year pledge, because it was too far in the future, but she felt she could safely pledge for three years.

Even people who were in straitened circumstances made a pledge and promised to increase the amount if and when things turned around for them.

Ms. Hope says there was little negativity and a lot of optimism around the campaign. When she asked for volunteers for a phone bank—a task neither she nor the other executive committee members relished—people stepped forward who had never volunteered for anything before.

When the parish receives its share of the money—40 per cent of the target and 75 per cent of the additional $104,000—one of the first projects to be undertaken will be replacing the church’s wooden doors with glass, says Ms. Hope.

“When people come, they can see right in,” she says, “That will make it a lot easier when people come to church for the first time. They can see what’s behind the door rather than fearing to open the door.”