Walk back in time with me when you were new to the vestry, as I was. Like a deer-in-the-headlights, I was paralyzed by the information overload and I began asking myself the proverbial question: “What did I get myself involved in”?
I recognized if I was going to be a member of the vestry, involved in this important ministry, I needed some facts — pertinent facts. I was looking for answers to “where have we been over the past 10 or 15 years”, and “are we growing, are we stagnant, or are we withering?” The three-ring binder of do’s and don’ts for vestry members didn’t include this. I needed a one page or two page of “factoids” that immediately painted a picture of our church and how those facts could relate to current and previous rectors’ tenures, our congregational numbers, and, very importantly, stewardship and pledges over the years.
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“Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
- For an Election, Book of Common Prayer p.822
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. Our Episcopal Church has done a fine job to remind us of the awesome privilege and responsibility of voting. The resources available online, the Election Engagment Toolkit from Episcopal Public Policy Network, as well as the prayers in the Prayer Book itself, including the collect quoted above, have been useful tools in my own prayer life as I get ready.
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...Or, going forth into the world to love and serve with joy.
The letter was from Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Another solicitation from an organization my husband and I support. I added it to his pile of mail. Then forgot about it.
Later that day, in our shared office, Bill said, “Hey look at this! You’ll want to see what we got from Commonwealth Shakespeare,” then added, “I bet you’ll want to share this on your website.”Now curious, I looked at the sheet of paper in his hand. Readers of Vestry Papers – especially my article in our current issue – might smile, as I did, at what I saw.
Here’s a photo:
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“Stewardship” is a topic about which I’ve heard and prayed throughout my Christian journey. Having grown up in the church, at first I became aware that “stewardship happens in the fall” so we have enough money to operate next year. Mom and Dad received pledge envelopes, put money in them, and placed them in the offering plate on Sunday. It’s what you do when you’re a responsible member of a church. (I don’t remember them telling me that; it’s just what I came to assume).
When I became a capital campaign consultant with the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF), I soon realized my understanding of stewardship as a ministry was limited around the concept of obligation.
I began searching for how to better express the meaning and benefits of stewardship. I also prayed for my own response to God’s abundance to be more significant. One of my favorite authors on this subject is priest and fellow ECF consultant Gerald W. Keucher who encourages church leaders “to move from the language of obligation” in our stewardship ministries.
In his book, Remember the Future: Financial Leadership and Asset Management for Congregations (2006), Keucher discusses how the practice of proportional giving actually frees us from the idea of obligation:
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The message heard loud and clear at our monthly UBE (Union of Black Episcopalians) meetings at different congregations throughout the Diocese of New Jersey was how difficult it was to fill all Sunday services with a clergy person. The reasons were varied; the congregation may have been in transition, or the full time clergy was on vacation, on sabbatical, or even ill.
One idea stood out from all of our discussions. A clergy person suggested we re-embrace layperson led Morning Prayer as a legitimate form of Sunday morning worship. Response was mixed. Anglicans from the Caribbean or Africa experienced Morning Prayer often, due to less frequent clergy availability due to the number of congregations to be served. Older members had positively experienced Morning Prayer as common practice in times past. For others it was a harder pill to swallow, as they believed if there was no Communion then we didn’t really have a Service. There was also feedback that Morning Prayer was unfulfilling and it some cases even boring.
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The fall equinox is here. Days are growing shorter, and even drought-scorched Los Angeles is showing signs of cooling down.
It’s been an overwhelming summer. The unrelenting violence around the nation and the world has gotten to me. Police shooting people. People shooting police. People on trains, in airports and hospitals, celebrating at weddings, seeing their lives turned suddenly to carnage. Earlier this summer, a mom and her 4-year-old daughter shot to death on the way home from the grocery store two blocks from a church I served. Today, news of four people shot, two killed, a block from another church I served. Trouble here, there, everywhere.
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In the September Vital Practices Digest, we offer 5 resources you can easily incorporate into your fall stewardship campaign, with the 5th a resource to help establish year-round stewardship in your congregation.
It’s easy and free to connect with more great resources for your congregation. Subscribe to ECF Vital Practices to receive Vestry Papers and this Vital Practices Digest in your inbox each month.
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Our youth group’s revival started with a half-century old confirmation bulletin.
A member of the church brought in his confirmation bulletin to share with the priest. As he looked at it, he noticed an interesting addition. In the listing of clergy and staff members and congregational leadership, there was another line: the president of the Episcopal Young Churchmen. That’s right: the leader of the church’s youth group was listed (and in this case, leader meant the young person, not the paid or volunteer adult).
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Or, how a remake of a remake of a song became a classic
Starting from scratch is usually a bad idea.
Too often, we assume innovative ideas and meaningful changes require a blank slate. When a project fails, we say, “Let’s go back to the drawing board.” When we have habits we want to change, we think, “I just need a fresh start.” However, creative progress is rarely the result of throwing out all previous ideas and completely re-imagining the world.
Take Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” for example.
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Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry new video is here. (3:58)
Note: The following is the transcript of the Presiding Bishop’s video message in English and Spanish.
We’ve been talking for a little over a year now about being the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, and somebody recently said to me, “As a bishop, why don’t you paint us a picture, give us a picture of the Jesus Movement so that we can see it?”
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Commemorations and TV specials marked the 15 anniversary of 9/11. I know many priests, including my own, preached stirring sermons. At my church, we also experienced the words of the sermon come to life.
The day before we had a special delivery. Our congregation is building a columbarium in the chapel, and many folks have come together to work on various components. The contributions of these parishioners are wonderful. But the gift of one person is changing me, changing us.
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Ever since I took up facilitating strategic planning, I’ve carried dots in my supply box. Small, brightly-colored, adhesive-backed dots come in handy when a group needs to determine priorities for the months ahead. Participants use a small number of dots to “vote” on what’s most important. Sometimes it’s amazing how quickly consensus is reached. Unless it’s not.
Here is a methodology for leading a group, such as a vestry, to think strategically about priorities in the months ahead. This can be applied when setting the annual budget, determining whether to continue a struggling ministry, reconfiguring building space, or setting overall goals for the year ahead.
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The 67 members of Bishops United Against Gun Violence understand that lobbying legislators and writing letters to the editor are not everyone’s strong suit. But this fall they are joining an effort that makes it possible for Episcopalians to raise their voices—literally—on behalf of gun violence prevention by doing something that church folks do all the time: sing.
The Concert Across America on Sunday, September 25 is a series of musical events, large and small, dedicated to remembering victims of gun violence and “raising the volume on the national effort to save lives,” according to organizers at Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, which is one of the event’s sponsors.
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I’m writing this on the day after Labor Day, also known in our household as our daughter’s first day of third grade. In our community, most school-aged children have been back in school for a while now (my daughter’s school does things a bit differently), but summer’s unofficial ending is now past.
In the church, as well, we’re gearing up for another year of Sunday School and formation. Our Sunday School Kickoff Sunday is, as it’s been, this weekend, right after Labor Day. I’m very proud that St. George’s, as a community, has grown a heart for formation ministries. When I arrived as rector nine years ago, there was a dedicated team of teachers and a great, but small crew of children and youth. They followed the one-room-schoolhouse approach, and critical numbers weren’t strong enough. Teachers on the search committee told me they didn’t have enough volunteers to help so, in their words, “we all wear several hats.” In my first few years, as part of investing in this community – not just the congregation I saw regularly but the wider networks of people, many of whom have deep ties to this church – I met lots of children, and learned that this area is, in fact, teeming with young families and young children, and I also came into contact with a lot of gifted and spiritually deep adults, many of whom are currently some of our best teachers. Our Sunday School has grown from one class to four, from probably a handful of children to nearly 40. I’m proud that the addition of a regular Sunday morning adult forum has seemed to stick, too.
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Labor Day is past; a new program year begins, often followed by the annual giving campaign. We invite you to set aside time to think about the ‘why’ of a person’s decision to give, perhaps starting with your own giving story and reflecting on how to speak to the ‘why’ this annual campaign season.
The experiences and ideas of these congregations and individuals may spark conversation in your congregation:
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Not all volunteers are created equal.
Or to paraphrase another cultural bastion: Differ’nt strokes for different folks.
A faithful, careful reader of Vital Practices stopped me at church on Sunday to talk about last week’s blog, in which I urged congregations to consider having both greeters and ushers. The reason is to make a clear differentiation between the roles: the ushers focus on assisting in the worship, directing people to seats, handing out bulletins, collecting the offertory, and releasing the pews for Holy Eucharist. The greeters, on the other hand, are for greeting – for offering authentic, warm welcomes, particularly for newcomers.
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When my sons tell me they want to be race car drivers when they grow up, I think “just wait until you’re in the real world.” But why? At what point do we stop dreaming about what we can be and do?
How can we begin to dream about and carry out our work as a way to participate in the mission of God?
Dreams Aren’t Just For Children
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