YEAR-ROUND STEWARDSHIP #3

            I am continuing to share information about year-round stewardship that I started sharing a couple of weeks ago. So far, we’ve talked about the first six months of the year. Now we’ll cover the summer months of July and August and the first fall month of September.

 

July

·         The summer months usually aren’t terribly busy, but I think it’s a good time to consider whether have some sort of quarterly report that talks about faith and finance, and what that would look like.

August

·         Again, not a terribly busy month finance-wise, generally, but spend some time preparing budget requests to the various team and ministry leaders, so that these team leaders have them prior to their busy fall.

September

·         Send out quarterly statements to all givers. This is a good way, as people “return to church” and see the church ramping up activities, to catch up on their giving that may have fallen behind during the summer.

·         Receive and review budget requests that had gone out to ministry and team leaders last month and start to put together a preliminary budget for next year.

·         Review income and expenses to date, and see if the “summer slump” is more significant than normal.

·         Continue planning for the fall pledge campaign.

It is now the busy time of the year finance-wise, but if you have been doing some of this work since the beginning of the year, you will be entering the fall in good shape!

 

 

                  YEAR-ROUND STEWARDSHIP #2

            I am continuing to share information about year-round stewardship that I started sharing last week. Last week, I talked about the first quarter of the year, and this week, I’ll talk about the second quarter (April, May and June).

 

April

• ·         This might be a good time to hold an estate planning & giving workshop. Do you have a planned giving policy in your church? This is a specific plan that is one part of a “good” stewardship program. We usually do a decent job talking about operating or general fund giving, you know, the day-to-day operation so the church. And sometimes we do okay with a capital campaign when there’s a big building project. However, planned giving is different from both of those, but not necessarily separate. This is the type of giving that is after death, or trusts or estate giving. Having a workshop is a good way to introduce different ways of making gifts, which could include trusts, retirement accounts, life insurance, naming the church in their will, etc. Have you talked to some of your folks and discussed why they think it’s important to support their church with their regular giving? If supporting the church is important to them now while they’re alive, why would they change after they are no longer attending? The needs of the church aren’t going to go away. Create a flyer to talk about different ways of giving, have workshops to set up powers of attorney and other legal documents, or talk about them. Share the different ways someone can remember the church financially after their death.
• ·         Have someone speak during a worship service this month about why the church is important to them.

May

• ·         Mail a letter and/or send emails between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day to preview the activities planned for the summer months. Use color, different fonts, be positive and enthusiastic. Despite the “rumors” I’ve often heard that church is closed in the summer 😊 Ministry is still happening. Let people know what is going before they start making their summer plans.

·         Include an envelope with the letter, encouraging people to pre-pay contributions before they leave on vacation.

• ·         The stewardship committee and finance committee should start planning their fall stewardship campaign!

June

• ·         Send some thank you notes to givers or make thank you calls.
• ·         The second of four newsletter articles should be published.
• ·         The stewardship committee and finance committee should continue their work on planning their fall campaign.

This is work that needs to continue year-round. It cannot be limited to just the fall.

 

                               YEAR-ROUND STEWARDSHIP #1

            Earlier in the year, I shared information about fall stewardship campaigns and how important they are, and how work should be started well before the fall. I wanted to also share information about how our stewardship work cannot stop there. We must “do stewardship” year-round.

            That is not to say that every week, you’ll get in front of the congregation and ask for money. Stewardship is so much more than money. It is includes time, talents, worship, and service. Also, different voices are important to be heard. How often do our fall campaigns include the same voices again and again. It may be the finance chair or the treasurer or the pastor or someone else that is willing to get up in front of the congregation and speak. And I am not saying to stop that, but I am saying other voices need to be heard as well. Those voices could be a youth, a Sunday School teacher, a choir member, someone who went on a mission trip. The list goes on and on.

            In much of the information I subscribe to and read, year-round stewardship calendars are included. I am going to spend my next few blogs working through the year. Stewardship does not end when the fall campaign is over.

            So how should you start your “stewardship year”?

January

• ·         The annual giving statements are mailed with a cover letter expressing thanks and how their generosity enabled ministry to happen. This is the letter that is required by the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes. While it has a secular purpose, use the paper to thank your folks!
• ·         Look at your budget and start discussing short-term and long-term plans and goals. This includes your finance people but should include others. Our mission and ministry should never be handicapper by money!
• ·         Create a calendar and start scheduling monthly ministry moments or stories. These would be short, maybe three to five minutes each. Start out monthly if this is something you haven’t done before. Tell the story. Communicate and inspire.

February

• ·         Have your first ministry moment during worship.
• ·         Start watching the “Wesley and Giving” videos from UMC Giving. Start with your financial people watching this video and discuss it. Should others be invited to watch?
• ·         If you haven’t done a narrative budget before, start researching narrative budgets and how you could do this. If you have done one, put your current year’s narrative budget together and send it out to your folks.
• ·         Review your policies and procedures, including accounting and financial, endowment and gift acceptance policies. If you don’t have any, start working on this.

March

• ·         Publish a newsletter article, talking about a ministry that has happened because of the generosity of your church. Include pictures.
• ·         Consider scheduling workshops, including personal financial worships or estate planning and planned giving workshop.
• ·         Review the church website and Facebook pages for how money is talked about and what resources are provided.

            I know it seems like a lot of work, but start working on some of these items now. It doesn’t all have to be done by one person, but stewardship and everything that is part of that must be celebrated throughout the year.

 

 

 

                                   OUR SOCIAL CREED

 

            I am finishing my series of weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. I have discussed the many sub-sections, including The Natural World, The Nurturing Community, the Social Community, the Economic Community, the Political Community and The World Community.

            This week we come to Our Social Creed. The United Methodist Church strongly encourages that the Social Creed be used regularly during our worship services. How often do we this? I am sharing that Social Creed here, easy to cut and paste or print and post. Just as the Social Principles worked through those many sub-sections on many topics, Our Social Creed[1] also summarizes the beliefs on each of those topics. I have, accordingly, bolded the relevant words.

            We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends.

            We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.

            We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family.

            We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons.

            We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress.

            We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for all people of the world.

            We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of the gospel in the world. Amen.

            In addition to this Social Creed that summarizes the detailed Social Principles, a litany is also provided. Each section starts with the words “today is the day God….”.

·         Psalm 118.24 in the English Standard Version, says this: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

·         Hymn #657 in The United Methodist Hymnal, titled “This is the Day” says: this is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice, let us rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.

Each section ends “and so shall we”.

• ·         If God cares for the integrity of creation, so shall we.
• ·         If God embraces all hues of humanity, so shall we.
• ·         If God cries with the masses of starving people, so shall we.
• ·         If God deplores violence in our homes and streets, so shall we.
• ·         If God classes for nations and peoples to live in peace, so shall we.
• ·         If God brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to the captives, gives sight to the blind, and sets the oppressed free, so shall we.

So shall we…

So should we….

And so we shall…..

           

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[1] From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2016. Copyright 2016 by The United Methodist Publishing House.

 

               SOCIAL PRINCIPLES #6 – THE WORLD COMMUNITY

 

            I am continuing my weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. I have discussed The Natural World, The Nurturing Community, the Social Community, the Economic Community and the Political Community sections.

            This week is The World Community section with sub-sections of:

• ·         Nations and Cultures
• ·         National Power and Responsibility
• ·         War and Peace
• ·         Justice and Law      

            Scripture says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) John Wesley said the whole world was his parish. Our Social Principles say that God’s world is one world.

            This viewpoint is at no time truer than now. We have the internet, Zoom, social media, telephone, television, etc. where one or two generations ago, something might have happened, someone would notice it; write about it, and a long time would pass before we might have the opportunity to read about it. Some things could happen and we might never know.

            Now, something happens, and we know almost immediately. We are forced into unity through some of these “advances.” This unity often doesn’t occur naturally. While we may be unified in some ways, churches, religions, countries, nations, peoples are still diverse. I think that’s why agreeing across denominational lines, or across geographic lines, or across other lines is so difficult; we’re forced into unity, but we’re all different.

            It’s difficult for me, with my assumptions, and my belief systems, and my experiences, to understand where others are coming from and where they are going. I have to confess that sometimes I expect others to be at the same point as me, and cannot understand nations that may be at least one generation behind where I am today, or a country that has far different experiences than I have had, or people who are on their own faith journey, but are not at the same point on the same path I am.

            I have to learn, as I believe we all do, to try to understand others and accept the diversity that exists, but still know, in my heart and mind, that God created everything and everyone, and we are all loved by God.

 

           

 

               SOCIAL PRINCIPLES #5 – THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY

             I am continuing my weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. I have discussed The Natural World, The Nurturing Community, the Social Community and the Economic Community sections.

            This week is The Political Community section with sub-sections of:

• ·         Basic Freedoms and Human Rights
• ·         Political Responsibility
• ·         Church and State Relations
• ·         Freedom of Information
• ·         Education
• ·         Civil Obedience and Civil Disobedience
• ·         The Death Penalty
• ·         Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice
• ·         Military Service

            We’ve all heard of the necessity of the separation of church and state. That is true, in the sense that government shouldn’t control how people are allowed to practice religion. Likewise, the church shouldn’t override the government. But, as the Social Principles say, governments are necessary to order the lives of people. And churches are necessary to order our spirits and our faith.

            They can and should be allowed to work together in our lives. For different purposes and at different times. All of that being said, there may be “opinions” of the government that people of faith struggle with. These topics or “opinions” are addressed in this section—not to override the government but to render the opinions and beliefs of people of faith.           

            As a tidbit of information, the United Methodist Church is designed very much like the US government in some ways. The United Methodist Church was formed here in the United States when John Wesley’s Methodist movement was brought here. So the UMC has an executive “branch” (Bishops); a judicial “branch” (the Judicial Council); and a legislative “branch” (General Conference). While we may not like some of the hierarchy in our government or in our church, the creators of both the country’s government and the church’s government set it up in a way they felt would be best. That’s not to say that change is unnecessary or unwarranted or bad.

            Stay informed and understand what is going on! Be good stewards of the political government and situation, as well as the church.

 

 

           

 

                 SOCIAL PRINCIPLES #4 – THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

 

            I am continuing my weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. I have discussed The Natural World, The Nurturing Community and the Social Community sections.

            This week is The Economic Community section with sub-sections of:

• ·         Property
• ·         Collective Bargaining
• ·         Work and Leisure
• ·         Consumption
• ·         Poverty
• ·         Foreign Workers
• ·         Gambling
• ·         Family Farms
• ·         Corporate Responsibility
• ·         Finance
• ·         Trade and Investment
• ·         Graft and Corruption
• ·         Public Indebtedness

            When we talk stewardship, we talk about being stewards of what God has given us. And if the first stewardship scripture is “In the beginning God created,” then everything is God’s. We don’t own any of it. We use it (hopefully well); we care for it (hopefully wisely); and we share it (hopefully generously). So, then, everything we have is God’s. Thus, it makes total sense why all these categories and economics becomes part of a community, a community of which we are all a part. Individuals must act as good stewards, but so much governments and communities, companies and churches.

           

            This isn’t new. John Wesley had many opinions that are summarized in his “Political Manifesto”. This was shared in a series of blogs in mid-2020. Feel free to go back and review them. As an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church, I am ordained to compassion and justice. The Economic Community speaks to compassion and justice, and it can’t be limited to just deacons. We can be compassionate and feel sorry for someone, but unless we’re willing to do something to make a chance, justice won’t happen. We obviously need to be compassionate, but we also need to work for justice. May it always be so!