in Vital Posts and filtered by Youth, Stewardship, Hospitality + 2 other(s)
By Sarah Townsend Leach
Sarah Leach contributes our latest blog. She wants the Episcopal Church to use the word “stewardship” the way the rest of the non-profit world uses it, not just to mean the solicitation of funds.
By Linda Buskirk
St. John’s of Grand Haven MI uses a personal approach to stewardship that has proved very effective and pleasant for its practitioners. Starting in the spring and continuing throughout the entire year, stewardship team members reach out individually to parishioners on their lists through personal notes. Giving to St. John’s has increased about 25% over the past five years.
By Linda Buskirk
Many faith communities are about to launch annual giving campaigns. Linda Buskirk suggests that thinking of the annual campaign as an invitation rather than an “ask” changes the dynamic and will help more people give.
By Lindsey Harts
Lindsey Harts grew up doing “code red drills” where she hid from a pretend shooter. She feels that this common experience among millennials helped lead to the generation’s demand for radical authenticity. As she says, “in a world where shootings are live-streamed on the internet…you tend to have a very low tolerance for nonsense.”
By John Lynch
John Lynch was always expected to be a leader as a millennial. He thinks it’s because he continued to show up in church. Here he shares his impressions of leadership and a lesson that he learned from members of the oldest generation—Trust in God and pray.
By Erin Wolf
As a millennial leader in Youth Ministry, Erin has walked with students as they’ve gone through serious traumas. She hopes that adults remember how valuable young people are and work to keep them safe.
By Gerlene Gordy
Gerlene Gordy grew up half time on the Navajo reservation and half time in the city. She started volunteering in the Church and got involved with Navajo singing groups and Bible studies that had both Navajo and English versions. She calls the Episcopal Church in Navajoland her home.
By Hilary Bogert-Winkler
Hilary Bogert-Winkler argues that millennials as a group have a particular relationship with authenticity. The churches she’s seen that are thriving and that have a healthy number of millennials and their families are churches that have a firm sense of who they are.
By Alan Yarborough
Alan Yarborough asks whether the Episcopal Church has what it takes to heal the political divide in this country. He posits that the Church has the space, staff, systems and stuff required to do so.
By Samantha Haycock
Samantha Haycock found that there are quite a few transferable skills between partially-blind, online dating and talking to strangers about Jesus. Often first dates proved fertile ground to practice spreading the Good News, as she found people curious about what it means to be a practicing Christian.