Our Budget

What is the work of the church? 

We gather to worship because the Church’s primary function is first and foremost the adoration of God who loves us.  Out of that adoration for our Creator flows an adoration for that which He loves – our fellow men and women. This is why we share the gospel and tend to those in need. We exist to pray. We pray with voices that have cracked at hospital beds.  We pray with hands that have held tiny fingers as new life came to be.  We pray that we can be evangelists, priests, prophets, stewards, and heralds.  We pray that we can be sign, symbol, and living Sacrament.  We pray that we can be the Church.

Worship/Evangelism/Pastoral Care

The word liturgy comes from the Greek Leitourgia. This can be best translated as “work for the people.” The word originally described building projects critical to a community’s ongoing life and might refer to a temple or bridge or aqueducts.  These works were the things that brought life and made community happen – which is what worship is to us. 

In a year, we have around 740 public worship services on Sundays and weekdays in addition to numerous funerals, weddings, and more.  In 2020 we moved our worship online and have had to quickly adapt to offering formation opportunities like Bible studies, formation groups, our Mosaic community night, and more all online. These tools have stayed with us since the pandemic as we have found them to be a wonderful way for people to stay connected when they cannot physically be here with us.

Formation

Christian Formation is the lifelong process of discipleship, directed by the Spirit, whereby we fall more keenly in love with Jesus Christ and learn to pattern our lives after Christ’s Way of Love.  Through practices aimed at deepening commitment to this Way, we grow into the full stature of Christ and become a people of faith, hope, and love.  This work includes Mosaic dinners and classes, bringing renowned speakers and writers, training Catechesis leaders, supporting the J2A pilgrimage, planning retreats and quiet days, engaging resources like the Saint John’s Bible, and much more.

Music

Through gifts of time and treasure our choral program intersects with formation to produce a lively lay ministry dedicated to leading, bolstering, and beautifying our liturgies.  Through ongoing engagement with the Royal School of Church Music, children’s choirs, residencies, and more our choir is a key part of the formation of, not only children’s and youth’s voices, but their self-confidence, faith, and imagination.  Both old voices and young work together to offer musical gifts as acts of worship: confession, supplication, thanksgiving, and praise.

Outreach

With gifts of time and treasure, we advocate for human rights, justice and peace, support relief and development programs, strive to alleviate hunger, create economic opportunities, and respond to disasters because this is how we are called to serve Christ in our neighbors both locally and farther afield.  This money enables the development of new programs like Jubilee Fund Medical Debt Relief, Beloved in the Desert, and the development of new partnerships to reimagine the ways we can meet the changing needs of a changing community.

Administration

Administration is not an end, but rather it is a means for serving people effectively, providing the systems to support the life of the parish in a manner that glorifies God. Whether it involves ensuring the church’s bills and staff are paid, the insurance in place, providing information for decision making, or contributions acknowledged, it is all meant to protect and support the ministry of the parish and to care for what we have inherited and to be faithful stewards for the next generation.

Diocesan Assessment

Our contribution to the mission and program work of the greater church, including the Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society.  An example of a unique ministry only a diocese can realistically support is Camp Genesis which provides a safe, loving, and nurturing camp experience to children whose parents are incarcerated.  Our share, as a larger congregation, helps to ensure that an Episcopal presence is maintained in towns across Arizona and especially in underserved areas.  Just as parishioners give to support the broad work of the parish as members, each parish gives to support the broader work of the whole Church as members of the diocese of Arizona.

Facilities

Our buildings and grounds provide space to make all of the above possible and allow Saint Philip’s to serve as a resource in the general community. We offer needed space to partner non-profit organizations, musicians, artists, craft guilds, and the important work being done by 12-step groups.  To quote a thank you note from a women’s AA group, “Because of your generosity, this meeting saved my life and my daughters have a mom in recovery.”