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Faithful
Stewards
February 2010 -
Volume 2, Issue
2 |
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The monthly
Stewardship e-newsletter of the Vermont
Conference
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One Great Hour of
Sharing |
When
we talk about Our Church's Wider Mission
(OCWM)
I try to encourage folks to say it out, not just
use the initials. Otherwise it's code-speak and
off-putting to those not as familiar with our
covenantal relationship with the wider church. And
when we talk about Our
Church's Wider Mission,
we're generally referring to Basic Support - those
undesignated contributions, 60% of which are
retained for the work of your Conference and 40%
of which are forwarded to the United Church of
Christ.
But Basic Support is only
part of OCWM. During the course of the year there
are four special offerings taken in our churches
that are the "Special Support" component of OCWM.
They are One
Great Hour of Sharing,
Neighbors
in Need,
Strengthen
the Church,
and The
Christmas Fund (Veterans of the
Cross).
The  One Great Hour of Sharing
(OGHS) offering
is accepted during Lent; this year the suggested
date is March 14th. Every congregation has
received a packet of information to help inform
members and collect the
offering.
OGHS is the primary vehicle
for our current and future support to the people
of Haiti. Last year, VT Conference churches gave
over $48,000 to OGHS. In the first six weeks of
2010, you've already donated almost $24,000; most
of it specifically designated for Haiti relief
efforts. I am gratified by the generosity of our
churches. Although the needs in Haiti are huge and
immediate, I would ask that you
consider sending your regular
annual offering to OGHS that is not
specifically designated for Haiti so that the
other critical work supported by this offering can
continue.
What does OGHS do? I don't
have space for that answer here, but, as an
example, I can tell you that we are still
supporting relief efforts to those affected by the
Tsunami four years ago - long after that tragedy
faded from our headlines. More information
about OGHS
is available here.
Need additional promotional materials? They are
available here.
Last
year our churches here in Vermont contributed a
total of $548,926 to Our Church's Wider Mission!
(total of Basic Support and the four Special
Offerings) It speaks well to our understanding of,
and our commitment to our covenant with the wider
church. And yet, only about half of our churches
collect these special offerings and only 25 or so
do all four. Help me this year; would you, to
increase that number so that we can celebrate even
more congregations as Five for Five Churches in
2010?
Let's see what else we have to
share this
month...
Jim
Jim
Thomas
Business
Manager/Stewardship Associate
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So... How did
the Conference do financially in
2009? |
December was a
truly remarkable month, with more than $134,000 of
income coming in to the Conference. Combined with
an expense budget that ended the year $80,000
below expectations, we ended 2009 comfortably in
the black.
Basic Support for Our
Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) came in 11% below
expectations, and Per Capita income was under by
6%. The Friends of the Vermont Conference income
increased from 2008, as more individuals
contributed unrestricted gifts to the
Conference.
Despite income that came
in below expectations, we ended 2009 in the black
because of two major reasons:
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the adjustments to the 2009 budget passed by
delegates at our May 2009 Annual Meeting, when we
reluctantly reduced by 5% the amount of OCWM we
send on to the UCC; and
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Aggressive and persistent attention to our
expenses, resulting in the expense side of the
budget coming in $84,000 under the approved
amount.
That we were able to end 2009
in the black given the very difficult economy
speaks well to the strong covenantal relationship
we have with our local churches. Things look a bit
better for 2010 - I have already heard from some
churches who felt it necessary to reduce
contributions in 2009 who are partially or fully
restoring those cuts in 2010. We have much shared
mission and ministry to do together. Thanks for
doing your part to keep your Conference
financially sound!
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Contributions
to non-UCC
agencies |
For many years, the Conference accepted
contributions from local churches for agencies
outside the Conference and UCC and forwarded them
on to the appropriate recipient. We did this for
two reasons: to provide a service to our
congregations, and to gain a clearer picture of
the complete mission giving of a
congregation.
As the Conference Staff has gotten
smaller, and all of us are doing more with
less, we have had to re-evaluate whether our
practices are still the best way to support our
local churches. When the Conference Office
acts as a pass-through for these non-UCC agencies,
it adds workload, delays receipt of the
contributions, and often the Conference gets
credit for the donation rather than
the congregation, despite our best efforts to
identify the originator.
Beginning January 1, 2010, the Conference
will no longer accept contributions for
non-UCC agencies. Examples include:
- Church World Service (including
Blanket Sunday and Tools of Hope)
- Heifer Project
- our regional seminaries
- the Congregational Library
- etc
Please begin sending these contributions
directly to the recipient. If you need addresses,
there is a list of the most common ones on the
Conference website. Download it by clicking here.
The Contribution Remittance Form has been
revised to reflect these changes. Please download
the updated form by clicking below:
Please help me get this information into the
hands of the person in your local congregation
responsible for sending contributions to the
Conference. Please note that every donation that
comes to the Conference should be accompanied by a
Contribution Remittance Form.
If you have any questions, or are unsure
about a specific contribution, please email me at
thomasj@vtcucc.org
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Stewardship
Resources |
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There are a wealth of
Stewardship and Church Vitality resources
available in the Conference Resource Center. These
resources can be checked out at no charge for use
in your local congregation. Contact Sybil at
the office to order. If you've not used the
Resource Center before, getting signed up is easy
and free. Sybil is available Tuesday through
Friday at 802-728-4999 or email her at: mcshanes@vtcucc.org
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Faithful Finances
- When to adopt new
technology |
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by Dan Hotchkiss, The Alban
Institute
The church I attend finally took the
plunge last fall: our newsletter now comes by
e-mail. Budget cuts made what had been unthinkable
seem plausible. But plausible is not the same as
right. How can we evaluate the costs and benefits
of using new technologies to make sure we adopt
the right ones at the right moment?
The cost saving from e-mailing
newsletters is significant: paper, printing,
postage. We're also saving the environment some
costs: paper, printing (unless everyone prints the
e-version out at home), and diesel fuel--each of
the mail trucks in our town is just a little
lighter. We've laid off our volunteer newsletter
folders, saving gas and freeing up their Tuesday
afternoons--which may be good or bad.
The benefits are also hard to measure: we
don't know whether people read more now or less.
(To be quite fair, we never knew before.) I do
know that two members of the choir--one alto, one
soprano--complain every Thursday night. "I never
look at the e-mail newsletter!" says the soprano.
"I hate it," says the alto. It seems reasonable to
assume that some people will read more of a
newsletter that sits on the coffee table than one
sitting in an e-mail inbox. Others will read more
the other way. How can we know?
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The Church
and the
Economy |
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A new section of the United
Church of Christ website is titled "New Economic
Times."
It contains resources to encourage us to be
vital communities of faith despite difficult
economic conditions. including a message from our
new General Minister and President, Geoffrey
Black.
Be sure to explore a little
while you're there. The links on the left side if
the page bring you to some great
resources. |
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Finally, a bit of
humor and something to think
about... |
Did you see the bumper sticker
the other day that read "Tithe if you love
Jesus. Anyone can honk".
Some one has said, there are
three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and
the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you
must hammer it. And then you get only chips and
sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must
squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the
more you will get. But the honeycomb just
overflows with its own sweetness. Which kind of
giver are you?
Two men were marooned on an
Island. One man paced back and forth worried and
scared while the other man sat back and was
sunning himself. The first man said to the
second man, "Aren't you afraid we are about to
die?" "No," said the second man, "I make $100,000
a week and tithe faithfully to my church. My
Pastor will find me."
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Did you know...
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Your
OCWM (Our Church's Wider Mission) contribution to
the VT Conference makes this email newsletter and
the numerous missions and ministries of the
Vermont Conference available to you and your
church.
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Don't miss our other newsletters!
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If you enjoy this Emailing don't
miss out on our other free e-newsletters. Whether
you are involved in Christian Education, Mission
or are just looking to keep up-to-date about
what's happening around the Conference, we have a
newsletter for you.
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