Friday, 24 of May of 2013
Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The following benevolence interpretation materials are now available for download. I encourage congregations to print them as part of their annual report, or otherwise make them available to members.
“Our Ministry Story: Eastern Synod, 2013″ (colour graphics)
“Our Ministry Story: Eastern Synod, 2013″ (monochrome graphics)
“It’s a Wonderful Synod” (colour graphics)
“It’s a Wonderful Synod” (monochrome graphics)
In other places I have sung the praises of email newsletters. I subscribe to about a dozen of them and find them a helpful way to stay in touch on various topics.
One that I particularly like comes from Sumac, a company that sells fund-raising software to charities. I haven’t tried out their product, and I’m certainly not shilling for them, but their newsletter is great and their graphics are cool. 
The newsletter arrives every month or two and contains several articles of interest to people who work in the charitable sector, particularly fund-raising (natch). The last issue came with links to three articles, all of them interesting. But the one that was particularly striking bore the title “6 Truths About The Donor Psyche & How They Inform Nonprofit Marketing” and came with this teaser:
Peter Singer, arguably the most famous and influential modern philosopher, delves into to the human psyche to determine what’s holding people back from giving at their full potential. He cites 6 reasons, which give way to 6 very clear things you can do to inspire giving in your next campaign!
If you are put off by the word “victim” in reason #1, I suggest you replace it with “beneficiary”. It will make just as much sense and probably fit our context better.
To go straight to the full article, click here.
Clicking on the “Library” tab at the top of the Sumac web page will take you to . . . you guessed it: a library of past newsletter articles, all helpfully sorted into categories. Enjoy!
Somebody sent me a link to an article on the Ministry Matters website. It’s by J. Clif Christopher, author of Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate. Click here to find the article.
Don’t be put off by the article’s title, “Rich Church, Poor Church”, which happens to be the title of his new book. It contains a brief explanation of the reasons people choose to make donations to a particular charity (and not others):
Does your experience bear out the truth of Christopher’s claims about why people give? Can your congregation provide evidence to convince a prospective donor on all three counts?
Are you looking for a program that helps people of all ages examine their attitudes and practices around giving, saving and spending? The Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA has developed The Generosity Project – Our Table is Ready. You can read about it and download the program materials here.
If your congregation decides to use the program, why not drop me a line so we can let others know about your experience? Write to jpym@elfec.com.
The Anglican Diocese of Toronto presents a one-day conference called “generosity@mission.god”. Lutherans are welcome to attend also.
Here’s the link to conference information on the diocesan website, from which you can proceed to the registration page:
This week’s email brought information about two resources on generous giving among children and youth.
Nathan Dungan is the president of Share Save Spend®, an organization dedicated to helping families make good decisions about money that are based on their values. He was a keynote speaker at a conference in Toronto in 2009 sponsored by the Canadian Interchurch Stewardship Committee (CISC) and the Ecumenical Stewardship Center (ESC) [The ELCIC is a member of both groups.] Nathan introduced himself as the son of a Lutheran pastor and a financial executive (if I remember correctly it was Mom who was the bank v-p).
I subscribe to Nathan’s newsletter to stay current on the financial issues affecting young people. The Share Save Spend website contains lots of articles and offers resources for sale as well.
The ESC and CISC have collaborated to make available a resource called “Wrapped in God’s Love”. The subtitle is “Planting Seeds of Faith; Growing Generous Hearts”. This was originally a book developed by one of the other member denominations of CISC . Now you can purchase it as a downloadable PDF for $9.95 on the Ecumenical Stewardship Center website.
I’m not familiar with the contents of the book, but would welcome and gladly post a review by any reader who has used it.
The week after Victoria Day is an odd time to be writing about a Christmas appeal letter, I know. However, you may want to consider discussing this with your council or stewardship committee now so you can begin making plans in the fall.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Cambridge was facing a budget deficit in the fall of 2011. They had published articles about it in their newsletter, which produced two gifts — one of them large. But those amounts were not enough to eliminate the looming shortfall.
So they decided to mail out a Christmas appeal letter (see it here: christmas letter st peter cambridge). It went in the mail on December 14. All but one of the responses listed below came in before year-end — an amazingly fast turnaround, in my opinion.
(Incidentally, they mailed a different letter to the two member households that had responded to the newsletter articles. It was substantially the same as the one most people received, but it omitted the request for a year-end donation. It was essentially a thank-you letter. And everyone who made a donation in response to the appeal also got a letter of thanks.)
It appears that this is the kind of appeal that could be conducted more than once in a congregation. Notice that the letter did not mention the budget deficit or the dire consequences that might ensue. The tone of desperation that characterizes so many of our “stewardship” efforts is missing.
Instead, the letter is focused on:
People can take offense at all kinds of trivial things, but it’s hard to find anything in this letter someone could complain about.
Here’s a summary of the appeal’s results.
Letters mailed: 152
Envelopes returned: 30 (19.7%)
Total donations: $3,130 (the total may in fact be higher; some people may have donated but not used the special envelope)
Average donation: $104
Donation range: $10-500
This is something you might want to do in your congregation — even if you don’t have budget deficit. Imagine what ministry you could undertake with a few thousand additional dollars!
What’s your financial IQ? Most pastors have a lot to learn. Here are 10 tips for church leaders for broadening your perspective on money and society:
1. Read some kind of financial publication, in print or online, at least occasionally. This will help you with your own education, as well as keep you in touch with current financial issues. Read a book about financial matters occasionally.
2. Develop your curiosity about financial matters and the economic system. While it’s not your main interest, it affects you and everyone in your church and community.
3. Connect with financial professionals in your congregation and community. Tell them of your interest in keeping up with the financial issues of the day.
4. Reserve judgment for a time and consider yourself a learner. While there is clearly a place for a theological critique of our system, it’s hard to assess what you don’t understand at all.
5. Find a way to connect face to face with those who have fewer resources than you. Engage with them as a learner, not a helper.
6. Remember that the Bible says “the love of money is the root of all evil,” not “money is the root of all evil.” Know the difference.
7. Develop a global perspective on financial matters. Your own denomination’s international ministry network can help with this. Don’t depend solely on mainstream media.
8. Accept that you will necessarily be a dabbler in this area. Don’t feel the need to be an expert, simply notice information that comes your way.
9. Study the Scripture with the question of society and money in mind. Jot down notes and questions you have about this matter.
10. Preach a sermon on money and society occasionally. Share your learning as well as your questions with the congregation.
Can you spare 10 minutes to watch something that will open and warm your heart?
This is a visual essay about being thankful for simple pleasures. A filmmaker captures beautiful images and the wise words of a young girl and an old man. Watch, listen and enjoy.
“Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will really be a good day.”
Unidentified man in film
[In my humble opinion, these TED talks are the best thing on the internet. If you haven't already found them, visit www.ted.com and have a peek at what's available. But be warned, TED can be addictive.]
From time to time, in my more pessimistic moments, I’ve thought that our church maintains a conspiracy of silence on money and giving. “Conspiracy” is probably too strong a word, so let’s call it an unconscious collusion not to talk about those things.
Bishop Michael Pryse has spoken about what he calls a middle-class taboo against discussing money. People who have little money aren’t reluctant to tell others how much they earn, or how they struggle to pay the bills. And people who have a lot of money are happy to flaunt their wealth through conspicuous consumption or (seemingly) casual conversations about their large homes or their vacation trips. But those of us in the middle are pretty tight-lipped when it comes to revealing any information about our personal financial circumstances. We don’t want to be thought of as having too much money or too little, so we maintain a discreet, uptight embargo on the subject.
When you were growing up, were you privy to the specifics of household income and spending? Have you let your own kids in on these sorts of details? Me neither.
In my experience this taboo extends to the subject of charitable giving, including giving to the church. I’ve encountered people who aren’t even sure how much they put on the offering plate, often because their spouse makes that decision and they never discuss it between them.
The process of creating a culture of generous giving may need to begin with breaking the silence. We all should know how much we’re giving now and the reasons behind it. Wouldn’t it be great if we understood the attitudes and habits formed in childhood that now direct our behaviour as adults? What would happen if we could identify the ways our faith interacts with cultural norms to shape our practices?
Imagine what it would be like to explore these questions with others, in a context that is safe and supportive.
A couple of years ago, under the personal leadership of Bishop Susan Johnson, the ELCIC created and distributed a resource called “Conversation on Gratitude and Generosity“. It is an outline for a 30-minute dialogue on our personal theology, attitudes and practices that has been used at meetings of National Church Council, Synod Councils and congregational councils across the church.
If you haven’t already done so, why not download the file and consider using it with a group in your congregation? If we can’t talk about this stuff, how will we ever be able to change?
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