Welcome
Welcome to the first edition of The Steward’s Well, a quarterly resource created especially for those leading stewardship in the congregation. It is my hope that you will draw deeply from the well of experience of fellow steward sojourners seeking to nourish life abundant in their own lives and in their community of faith.
How do you understand abundant life? Do you know it by the depth of your relationships with God and with one another, by the freedom to make choices that reflect your values, by using the gifts of time, money, passion and energy to unleash God’s dream of Shalom in the world? A wise friend of mine once said abundant life is not about being conformed to the world as it is, it is about being transformed by God’s love.
God’s love turns us around. Isn’t that how we understand baptismal living? Abundant life springs forth from the blessing given in our baptism. We begin this year anew in the season of Epiphany, a sacred time to hear with the ears of our heart, the generosity of God’s blessing given to Jesus in his baptism: “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I’m well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Much or our work in stewardship is to remind one another to receive the blessing given in our baptism. Assured of God’s steadfast love and utter delight in us, how do we live out our baptismal calling as both gift and response to God’s on-going initiative with us? Our journey as God’s stewards begins around the baptismal font - the well of God’s generosity.
Come and join us around the steward’s well. Take time to read, rest and reflect on what is surfacing in the ministry of stewardship. See what bubbles up for you.
Blessings,
The Rev. Laurel Johnston
Epiphany 2011
Nourishing Life in Gratitude: My Story
At a recent gathering of Latino Ministry leaders, Alondra Hernandez offered an impromptu testimony of why giving is integral to her faith journey. Laurel Johnston connected with her after the Nuevo Amanacer conference in December, 2010, to hear more about her story.
Nourishing Life in Generosity: Best Practices
Talking and Teaching about Money: An Essential Stewardship Opportunity for Your Congregation
Are youth learning the right habits from adults? Are congregations helping to shape wise financial values in young people? For more than twenty years, I’ve worked with faith communities on how to lead workshops that teach healthy money habits. I wish I could say I’ve witnessed a tremendous transformation. It would be nice to report that churches now have well-articulated strategies for teaching wise financial values in an aggressively materialistic climate. But for a few exceptions, little is happening.
Creating a Vestry Stewardship Statement
John Lennon promoted the use of the imagination as a way to change the way people thought about the world, their place in it, and what it might take to change the world. He invited us to dream and hope and invite others into imagining what life could be.
Congregational life deserves the same gift of imagination. How might your congregation look if the gathered community grounded their sense of self-worth, accomplishment, and meaning in the way they practiced sharing their bounty?
Annual Giving Year Round Planning Timeline
Looking to get a head-start in planning this year’s annual giving campaign? Here is a suggested year-round planning guideline for you to consider.
Coming Home to Love
The question for today’s hearers of this gospel is this: In what poverty do we modern listeners find ourselves? Where is our poverty of spirit, our mourning and our hunger? Into what peaceful kingdom are we being invited?
Events
Changing Church: Making a Difference
February 23-26, 2011 in Chicago, IL
Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes
Money Follows Mission: Stewardship Practices for the Body of Christ
March 18-19, 2011 in Marlboro, MA
Northeast Ecumenical Stewardship Conference
2011 TENS Conference: Inspiring Generations in Generosity
June 3-4, 2011 at Camp Allen, TX
The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)
Resources
Money Sanity Solutions: Linking Money and Meaning
Nathan Dungan
A Manual for Stewardship Development Programs in the Congregation
TENS - The Episcopal Network for Stewardship
Faith & Money Network
New 8-week Faith and Money Study Guide
Money and Faith: The Search for Enough
by Michael Schut
