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Resources for Wardens and Vestry
Stewardship (top) As the senior lay officers of a parish, you are to set an example for stewardship both by your personal commitment of time, talent, and treasure and by exercising good stewardship of the parish's resources. The Rev. Mary Sulerud, Canon for Ministry and Resource Development, and the members of the diocesan Stewardship Commission can be an invaluable source of information for you. What Stewardship Is What Stewardship Is (top) Stewardship is everything we do after we say, "We believe…." It is our living relationship with God. It is our response to God's unconditional love and to the gifts of salvation through Jesus Christ and grace through the Holy Spirit. Stewardship is not about money. It is about how we use everything that God has given us. It is about how we live and how we give. What do we give to God in response for all that has been given to us? We give time, talent, and treasure. Most people find giving their time and talent easy, almost natural. Giving treasure seems more difficult. We may ask, "How do I fit the church into our family's budget?" That question comes from living a life of scarcity. When we live a life of abundance, the question changes to "How do I best respond to God's gifts?" Stewardship development is an exploration of how this perspective can be taught to the congregation as a whole, so that all members are encouraged to share the resources that are necessary to fulfill our missions as members of the living Body of Christ in the world.
Effective stewardship strengthens all aspects of parish
life by
Leadership comes from those "out front," beginning with the clergy and wardens. As the senior lay leaders, and as spiritual leaders of congregations, wardens must examine and define their own beliefs and practices, and they must be prepared to answer questions about them before the congregation. Wardens are called to believe in their hearts and confess with their lips. As senior lay leaders, wardens should also be sure that clergy are clear about their beliefs and make their beliefs and practices known to the congregation. Nothing will happen in stewardship without the clergy's support, and nothing will succeed without the vestry's support.
E is for Education Stewardship development programs are those things that we do throughout the church year to educate one another on what it means to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and to invite one another to make a personal commitment in response. Both education and an invitation to commitment are essential to stewardship development. If a congregation conducts a commitment program without ongoing education, its stewardship development program will fail to fund God's mission for the congregation. Once people have begun to understand God's unconditional love and grace through an ongoing education program, funding the mission of the Church through personal commitment becomes a joy. To build an effective stewardship development program, begin by appointing an enthusiastic and committed stewardship committee. Knowledge, techniques, and proven approaches can all be learned from consultants and manuals, but there is no substitute for enthusiasm and commitment. Encourage the stewardship team to use existing resources and materials and to receive additional training where needed. Next, understand that congregations differ. There is a wide variety of possible commitment programs, and congregational leaders need to understand where their congregation is in its spiritual journey in order to put an appropriate program in place. One excellent way to begin to understand the congregation's spiritual state is to develop a vestry stewardship statement.
The vestry stewardship statement is a corporate statement made and signed by the vestry and the clergy. It is the most visible means by which the clergy and vestry collectively express their leadership in the practice of stewardship in the parish. The vestry stewardship statement can be the single most important expression of leadership on stewardship issues, and therefore is the critical element in a parish stewardship education program. The vestry stewardship statement expresses leadership and collaboration by describing personal commitments that include sacrificial giving offered in a timely manner and hands-on support of the commitment program. Essential elements of the statement are sentences that begin "We believe ... ", "We commit ...", "We commend ...". The statement should be brief and widely distributed. It should be signed by all vestry members, all clergy, and any others, such as the stewardship committee, who participated in its development. Example We believe God is the source of all gifts, spiritual and material. Our faithful response, in gratitude, is to be givers and creators ourselves. While we strive to be good stewards of all God's gifts to us, we believe that the way we use our money reflects the state of our spiritual lives. We commit ourselves to follow Christ in community. In prayerful witness to our faith, each of us is already tithing or is committed to increasing his or her personal giving to reach or exceed the tithe. Our experience is that joyful giving results in spiritual growth. We urge the parish to join us in the commitment to deepening our faith. RESOURCES (top) The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) Based in Wichita, KS, TENS strives to lead through the growth of a network of dedicated stewardship ministers serving congregations and dioceses and works to support the members of that network with personal consultations and fellowship opportunities as well as print, video and electronic resources. The Diocese of Washington is a member of the TENS network (see note below.) Individuals may join TENS for $30 a year. TENS produces a comprehensive catalog of products and can be reached at 800/699-2669 or tens@tens.org. Books from Morehouse Publishing A Manual for Stewardship Development Programs in the
Congregation On the Pilgrim's Way: Christian Stewardship and the Tithe by John K Brackett. For more information and to order, call 800/877-0012 or visit www.morehousegroup.com
Titles in the series include For more information and to order, contact the Alban Institute at 800/486-1318 or visit www.alban.org Effective Church Series from Jossey-Bass Titles in the series include The Commission on Stewardship (top) What the Commission Does The Stewardship Commission is composed of lay and clergy volunteers who serve as a resource to the Diocese of Washington. The Commission offers workshops and conferences, conducts surveys, and provides media resources, printed resources, and consulting services upon request. Areas of interest to individual members of the Commission include capital campaigns, the theology of stewardship, year-round parish programs, and planned giving. The Commission sponsors an annual Stewardship Conference
as an educational tool for parishes in the diocese, and also participates
in diocesan Equipping the Baptized conferences. These conferences are
coordinated by members of the Commission and Church House staff, and feature
Commission members and guest speakers from within the diocese and throughout
the wider church. The diocese makes print, video and education materials available to individual congregations. Stewardship Commission members have collected print material from the national church, several Episcopal dioceses, and other church sources. The Rev. Mary Sulerud, Canon for Ministry and Resource Development, and members of the Commission are also available to help educate or facilitate stewardship discussions. Stewardship workshops can be held for vestries, stewardship committees, or congregations. TENS Membership (top) The Stewardship Commission has made the Diocese of Washington an institutional member of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS). All congregations now receive regular information from TENS, including its newsletter and other materials full of information designed to help wardens and their congregations develop and conduct effective stewardship programs. For more information about stewardship or any of the services offered above, please contact the Rev. Canon Mary Sulerud or visit the Commission on Stewardship Web site. (top)
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