September 4, 2013

Editor's Letter: September 2013

September brings a different sort of energy, a different sense of time. There’s a renewed sense of urgency – the ‘lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer’ are behind us, replaced by a desire to get organized, to get on with things.

For many of our churches, September is the month we return to our regular worship schedule. Sunday school starts again, as do other programs as our churches adopt the rhythm of the school year.

September is also the time that many churches ramp up their annual campaigns. Congregational leaders look for inspiration, for ways to bring freshness and new ideas to their giving programs, often with the objective of raising more money than in years past.

In this issue of Vestry Papers, we embrace ‘wholehearted stewardship,” sharing stories and resources from congregations, dioceses, and individuals who have explored the question “what is keeping us from living into fundraising as a wholehearted ministry?”

In Vestry Papers this month:

Wholehearted Stewardship” by Erin Weber-Johnson explores this question, offering six truisms for congregational leaders to explore.




Is there a connection between spiritual vitality and stewardship? Bill Nesbitt’s “Spiritual Vitality” shares what happened in his congregation following their participation in a pilot project designed to both assess spiritual vitality and support spiritual growth.


In “Doing More with Less,” Eric Law shares a lesson learned as a young child at his mother’s table. The family dynamics of passing the “leftover” around generated a spirit of appreciation and affirmation, leading to his deeply ingrained belief in this radical value: It is better to have less than the other.

 Liberating Stewardship” by Demi Prentiss, offers congregations a road map for breaking out of a narrow understanding of stewardship and charting a different course. She offers a model for year round stewardship, with practical advice relating to both formation and administration.

Following each article is a list of resources offering additional information and/or practical tools. Interested in what else might be on the ECF Vital Practices’ website? Use the Topics index on each page of the site to find other resources related to leadership including past Vestry Papers articles, blog posts, and the many resources found in our Your Turn and Tools sections.

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