Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I’ve been thinking about stewardship and giving all week. First, there was the announcement in the parish bulletin reminding us saintly slackers to keep up with our pledges over the summer. I admit it: I needed that reminder. Since I haven’t set up automatic withdrawals, I have to find the checkbook in the midst of a busy schedule and write out my tithe every other week when I get paid. I try to keep up with it, make it my “first fruit” offering…but sometimes I fall behind. When I remember that my rector, the property committee, and all the leaders of our outreach ministries are still working hard, I know I need to step up and keep giving day in and day out. 

We also heard the reading of Genesis 1 during worship on Sunday. It was a profound reminder to consider the whole of creation and our place within it. As we in the Northern hemisphere experience the longest days of the year, I was struck with the images of the dome of the sky and the two great lights to rule day and night. Creation, whether made in 6 days or 13 billion years, is truly holy and amazing. Although there is much debate and consternation over how faithful people interpret Genesis 1:26-28 – about having “dominion” over parts of creation and “subduing” it – in light of contemporary social, political, and environmental concerns, this scripture informs a lot of what we Christians refer to as “stewardship.” If we truly believe that God, rather than ourselves, is the source of Creation, then we must find our right relationship to God and the rest of the created order. There’s no doubt we humans hold power. The question is how we use that power.

On Monday morning I continued in this vein by writing a short reflection for The Steward’s Well, a quarterly newsletter put out by the Stewardship Office of the Episcopal Church. (If you want to sign up to receive this newsletter or read past issues, click here.) When the article comes out in July I’ll post it here, but in the meantime let me share some of the writing prompts Laurel Johnston (Stewardship Officer) gave me. Maybe they will inspire your reflection:

• How did you come to see your own giving as a response of faith, a spiritual discipline?
• How is money a spiritual issue for you?
• Who helped you think differently about money and faith?
• What are the challenges, choices and outcomes of intentional and proportional giving?
• How has intentional and proportional giving strengthened your relationship with Christ?

Finally, yesterday I received several emails announcing the results of the annual Giving USA report on philanthropy. The study explores all the trends in charitable giving for 2010 and estimates total charitable contributions at $290.89 billion. I haven’t had time to delve into the details yet, but let me leave you with two main points below. If you want more, check out the news release or download a free copy of the Executive Summary (after registering on their site).

Total giving grew by 2.1 percent last year after adjusting for inflation. That’s good news following a combined drop of over 13 percent in 2008 and 2009,” said Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D., executive director of the Center on Philanthropy. “But the sobering reality is that many nonprofits are still hurting, and if giving continues to grow at that rate, it will take five to six more years just to return to the level of giving we saw before the Great Recession. (Quoting from the press release.)

Charitable giving to the religious subsector remained flat in 2010, rising an estimated 0.8 percent. This change is compared with a decline of 1.6 percent between 2008 and 2009. The estimated two-year change in charitable giving to religion-related organizations between 2008 and 2010 is a decline of 0.8 percent. (Quoting from the Executive Summary.)