September 2019
Mobilizing our Assets for Mission

Editor's Letter September 2019

Dear Friends,

Over the next few weeks, we will be hearing about stewardship a lot. When we contemplate stewardship, how often do we consider assets that aren’t money? When we want to start new ministries that will revitalize the communities around us, are we truly harnessing all the gifts we’ve been given? In this issue, we share different approaches to best use our many gifts, mobilizing them effectively to further our ministries.

What can you do with land? Turns out, the sky is the limit! In Stewardship and Land, Brian Sellers-Petersen shares his view of our greatest common asset – land, and provides numerous examples of active ministries that take advantage of this often underutilized gift.

Do you encounter a lot of beliefs and ideas about stewardship at your church? In The Top Five Stewardship Myths, Bill Campbell addresses some common myths around stewardship and offers suggestions on how to make the best use of our assets. This article is available in English and Spanish.

If you’ve been blessed with home ownership, have you considered how can you turn that into an asset that will benefit many others? In Turning Burdens into Blessings, Demi Prentiss explains Charitable Remainder Unitrusts, a charitable gift instrument that can benefit both you and the communities you care about.

Extension ministries are great way to use church property effectively – engaging with the community to fill a real need, while also supplementing the church’s income. But are there any risks to consider? In Extension Ministries and Risk, Steve Follos describes ways to mitigate risk and protect your church in these situations.

As you know, the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is an independent, lay-led organization that helps congregations, dioceses and other Episcopal communities of faith engage in visioning and planning, develop leadership and raise and manage resources for ministry.

At this time ECF’s communications team is discerning what rebranding will look like for ECF. We want to start by asking you, our audience, what you think. Your input is extremely valuable to us. Please take a minute to fill out this short online perception survey that will help us determine our brand strategy in the upcoming years.

To learn more about ECF and our programs, please visit our website.

Faithfully,

Charis Bhagianathan
Editor, ECFVP

This article is part of the September 2019 Vestry Papers issue on Mobilizing our Assets for Mission