2025 Year-End Giving & Finance Letter

Dear Incarnation,

We are writing to you today with important information regarding year-end giving, our Advent offering, and an update on the financial health of our church. 

A Note from Amy

At a parish meeting earlier this year, we shared an image from our vestry conversations of a car rolling down a hill, with God at the wheel and all of us running behind it, trying to jump in. 

Now, on the cusp of launching what has become Holy Comforter, and unexpectedly settling into a new worship space at Beverley Hills, it seems that we have managed to jump in the car. As we look to 2026, I am not sure where God will take us, how rough or winding the road will be, or what new landscapes we’ll encounter. But I am certain that God is at the wheel. He is capable, he is with us, and he knows the way. 

It is such a privilege to be in the car with you. The work of God in your lives is so evident. Thank you for your faithful generosity and service to this church, and to your broader communities, particularly in a year as tumultuous as this one. As you make decisions about year-end charitable giving, I ask you to please consider a gift to Incarnation. 

Year-End Giving Information

Below are answers to a few key questions about giving:

How can I make a year-end gift to Incarnation?

Year-end gifts to Incarnation’s operating fund can be made online here. Checks can be mailed to our new location at 3512 Old Dominion Blvd, Alexandria VA 22305 — please note the new address! Checks must be postdated by December 31, 2025 in order to count toward this year’s charitable giving. For detailed instructions on how to give, please see the Give page of our website. 

Is there a special Advent offering this year?

Yes! Every year we collect a special offering throughout the Advent-Christmas season for a ministry beyond the walls of Incarnation.

This year’s Advent offering recipient is Church of the Holy Comforter, our church plant in Hyattsville, MD. You can give to this special offering here through the end of December.

I plan to join the church plant. How do I change my recurring gift from Incarnation to Holy Comforter?

We encourage everyone who is joining the Holy Comforter church plant to switch their recurring gifts from Incarnation to Holy Comforter no later than January 31, 2026. This switch provides vital support to Holy Comforter, and helps our financial forecasting and reporting. 

To begin this process, login to PCO Giving. Select “My Giving” to see your giving history and planned gifts. Next to Planned Giving, select “Manage.” Then, click on the edit button (pen icon) next to your recurring gift to make changes. You may then select “Church of the Holy Comforter Operating Fund” from the dropdown menu to re-allocate your gift. From this page, you can also change your gift amount, frequency, or bank details. You may also create additional recurring gifts as desired. 

If you do not already have a recurring gift set up, you may follow the steps above to create a new recurring gift to Holy Comforter. Instead of editing an existing gift, you will simply click the “+New” button to create a recurring gift. 

Incarnation’s website offers further details on creating recurring gifts here. Please contact Emily Williams if you need additional support: emily@incarnationanglican.org. 

Will I receive an annual giving statement for tax purposes?

Yes! By the end of January 2026, you will receive an automated Year-End Giving Statement by email. If you do not receive this email by the end of January 2026, or if you wish to request a mailed paper statement, please contact Emily Williams: emily@incarnationanglican.org.  

2025 Financial Report

Our 2025 Fiscal Year ended on September 30. Total giving for the year was $522,792, 17% above budget. Total expenses for the year were $493,708, 7.8% above budget. Because our income exceeded expenses, we ran a surplus of $29,084 for the year. 

Benevolence Fund: We established a Benevolence Fund earlier this year to support people in our community experiencing financial instability. This fund received a generous outpouring of support throughout the year, totaling $24,731.

Outreach Giving: Thanks to your generosity, we gave $54,083 toward our outreach partners and programs in FY25. Roughly half of this went to the “Maryland Project” that grew into our church plant, Church of the Holy Comforter. The remainder included financial gifts to Restoration Immigration Legal Aid, Casa Chirilagua, Partners (Al Hol Refugee Camp, Syria), Five Talents, Vera Fernandes (serving Afghan refugees with For the Nations), and C&R (serving in West Asia).

You can read more financial details in the full year-end financial report from our November Parish Meeting here. 

This is a truly amazing turnaround in our financial position from one year ago, when we ended the year with a sizable deficit. This turnaround is due to a sustained increase in your generous, faithful giving, which is all the more remarkable considering the job losses and economic insecurities of this past year. We cannot do this without you, and we are humbled by your commitment to the financial health of our church. Thank you!

2026 Budget

Our 2026 fiscal year began Oct 1. We shared the FY26 budget at the November parish meeting, and you can view it within the year-end financial report here.

This budget includes a comprehensive budget for Church of the Holy Comforter, funded through a combination of external grants and designated giving from Holy Comforter attendees. It projects modest deficits for both Incarnation (Virginia) and Holy Comforter (Maryland), which will be funded from Incarnation’s reserves. 

The vestry has determined these deficits to be reasonable costs associated with launching a church plant and a worthy use of our generous reserve fund. We remain committed to the long-term sustainability of both congregations through wise stewardship, sustained giving, and eliminating deficits over time.

This budget also includes a generous outlay toward outreach partners, representing 10% of our FY25 undesignated income. We are grateful, and frankly a little amazed, that we are able to continue a strong commitment to outreach giving even as we plant a new church in Maryland.

You make all of this possible. Thank you for your faithful and generous support of our church! 

Sincerely,

Amy Rowe, Rector

Gabi Farris, Treasurer

Emily Williams, Operations Manager

Jared Noetzel, Vestry Finance Liaison