From the Vestry Finance Committee
Dear People of St. James’,
Each quarter, the Vestry Finance Committee (VFC) writes to share an update on the financial health of the parish. The numbers matter because they make our mission possible. So this quarter we want to share the story of where your dollars are going.
Where your giving is going in 2026
Your pledges and gifts this year are funding things we should be proud of:
Rev. Addison is continuing with St. James’ and Campus Ministries. At the end of his curacy, Addison is staying on at St. James’. For our young adult community, for Huston-Tillotson, and for all of us who have come to experience his ministry—we have the gift of continuity.
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for our staff. Our clergy and staff received COLAs this year. Fair, sustainable compensation for the people who serve this parish day in and day out is one of the most important things our budget does, and your generous response to our ask made it possible.
Worship and music that lifts us. Holy Week was full and beautiful — Palm Sunday with Toy, our faithful donkey, the Easter Vigil, all four Easter services, and an Easter Day attendance of 500+. Our ensemble-in-residence, Inversion Ensemble, held its first concerts at St. James’ this spring, and our music ministry continues to anchor the 10:30, 1:00, and 5:00 services with extraordinary care.
Outreach and advocacy that reaches beyond our walls. With your support, our 501(c)3, Welcome Table raised over $25,000 through Amplify Austin this spring. Our immigrant advocacy work has supported more than 180 families in emergency planning with completed Power of Attorney forms, and we continue to participate in monthly Migration with Dignity vigils. We’re partnering with Child Inc. (Head Start) on our shared campus, developing a new maternal health partnership, and we have launched a weekly ESL class for Spanish-speakers.
Building for the future. The Master Plan Committee has been oriented and is at work. The committee is doing the careful, prayerful planning that will shape our campus and ministry for years to come, and in August, you will have opportunities to be involved.
These are not abstract line items. They are the shape of a parish that, as one of our committee members put it recently, takes some risks to be who we say we are.
How are we doing financially? We are in healthy financial shape as we move through 2026. Through March, income is tracking well. Pledges are coming in strong — but as in past years, that’s partly because a number of our members generously pay their full annual pledge in January. We expect the year-to-date pace to settle closer to plan as the year goes on, and we’ll continue to keep a close eye on it. Operating contributions are also running ahead of last year, which is a real and encouraging sign. Expenses are tracking on plan, with normal quarter-to-quarter timing on items like the annual audit and seasonal utilities. Our bank balances stand above $900,000, including approximately $270,000 set aside in our Rainy-Day Fund. We finished 2025 with a small operating surplus of about $12,000, which gave us a strong foundation entering this year. We are working toward a long-term goal of growing our Rainy-Day reserve to cover several months of operating expenses — a quiet but important piece of stewardship for any parish our size. A note on the bigger picture: our 2026 operating budget is roughly $1.07 million in income and $1.09 million in expenses — a modest planned deficit of about $17,000 for the year, which Q1 results have us positioned well to manage.
A word about our endowment and discretionary funds Two things we don’t talk about often enough: Our endowment, begun in 2018, has grown to approximately $320,000 — a meaningful increase from where we stood just a few years ago. We draw a small portion of the endowment annually to assist with capital improvements, one-time projects or donor-designated purposes. The power of the endowment draw is that it allows us to undertake important items that would otherwise have to be funded from the operating budget. This year, commensurate with our plan, we’ve taken our first endowment draw. If you’ve ever wondered how to leave a lasting gift to St. James’, planned giving through the endowment is a beautiful way to do it. The Endowment Committee is glad to talk with anyone interested. Clergy discretionary funds — managed by our rector and assistant clergy — quietly and confidentially meet pastoral needs in our community and beyond. Rent assistance and eviction prevention. Groceries. A car repair. The kind of help that doesn’t make a budget line but changes lives. These funds are sustained entirely by your direct generosity, and we are grateful for every gift to them.
Thank you, and one practical ask
Thank you, St. James’. Your faithfulness in pledging, in showing up, in volunteering, and in praying for one another is what makes any of this possible.
If you’ve been considering automating your pledge, we encourage you to take that step. Recurring giving makes the church’s finances steadier and more predictable, and it’s one of the simplest ways to support this work. Aimee Estep in the church office is glad to help you get set up. You can also visit:
https://stjamesaustin.org/give/
We’ve also rolled out text-to-give — another simple way to give in the moment, especially for our guests and visitors. And if you prefer Venmo, you can now give that way through our PayPal donation page.
Looking ahead
The VFC is continuing work on:
- Stewardship of our growing endowment
- Ongoing review of clergy and staff compensation
- Supporting the Master Plan and our 2026–2030 Strategic Plan
- Strengthening our reserve funds (Rainy-Day, Leased Buildings, and future maintenance) so that St. James’ is ready for whatever the years ahead bring
Your Vestry Finance Committee, your vestry, and our clergy are working with great care to support the health of this community — financially, physically, and spiritually. We are deeply thankful for our clergy, staff, volunteers, and every one of you who makes St. James’ the welcoming, dynamic, and generous place that it is.
With gratitude,
Mikal Lewis, Chair of the Vestry Finance Committee
