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Faithful
Stewards
March 2010 - Volume 2,
Issue
3 |
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The monthly
Stewardship e-newsletter of the Vermont
Conference
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Emergent
Stewardship? |
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Last
month I attended the Woodbury Leadership
Workshop at Andover Newton Theological
School. Brian McLaren was the keynote, and I
wrote about a bit of his message in E-KIT a few
weeks ago. Jeff Jones, an Andover Newton
professor, led a couple of
other sessions, and he also gave me much to
think about.
In particular, he spoke about Emergent Church
insights for the mainline churches. Today, I'll
touch on just one of them that I think relates to
Stewardship:
"It's not about the church; it's about
the kingdom."
Jeff points out that we can become fixated
with institutional maintenance, or even growth or
vitality. He says it's it's not about bringing
more people in, but sending those who are there
out.
This really resonates with me. Whether you
wish to call our present time post-modern, post-
denominational, or something else, we are perhaps
in as great a state of flux as any time since the
reformation. In my travels to our local churches,
I often find congregations intent, at any cost, on
maintaining their past, their organization, their
programs, even perhaps their building, at the
expense of mission and ministry. And that's too
bad, because it renders stillborn any of a number
of new ways to "be" about the work we
are called to do.
This month I invite you to identify and name
out loud those things that cause your
congregation to focus on the finite rather
than the infinite. Then consider the new ways
you might be about the kingdom. If you like, share
your vision for the future or the ways you are
already doing this - and I'll post them in a
future issue.
Let's see what else we have to share this
month...
Jim
Jim
Thomas
Business
Manager/Stewardship Associate
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What Will
Your Local Church Contribute to Our Church's Wider
Mission in
2010? |
Much the same as when your local
church does their annual Stewardship
Campaign, and asks members to consider and then
name the amount of the tithes and offerings they
will contribute, we as the Conference also ask
this of our local churches.
Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM)
is the single largest income source for the
Conference, and we also send on 40% of these
contributions to the national UCC. Each year
we ask congregations to estimate the level of
giving to OCWM. In the past, this was done by a
mailing with return postcard.
This year, continuing to seek ways to
conserve resources, we're providing a way to do it
on line. Earlier today, an email invitation was
sent to all our pastors asking them to complete a
short survey. In case your pastor didn't see it,
or you're in-between pastors right now, or perhaps
there's someone (ummmm) better suited to complete
the survey in your church,
Thanks! It's a lot easier to know how far the
Conference bus will travel this year when we know
how much fuel we'll
have! |
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Save the
Date!! May 1,
2010 |
Changing Lives:
Sacred Stories
Remembered, Told, and Lived
We all want our
churches to grow. We fret about it. We
read books about how to make it happen. We
try new programs. Sometimes they help, but
often they don't. Moreover, maybe we spend
too much time thinking about how to fill the pews
and too little time remembering and sharing the
stories of how our churches are already - in large
and small ways - changing lives. Stories...
of the transformation felt by individuals, of the
healing taking place in communities, and the
renewal experienced as our churches grow closer to
God. We all wish for greater congregational
vitality. Laying a firm foundation for
increased vitality just may begin with recognizing
where vitality is already a reality.
On May 1st, the Church Growth
Committee and the Stewardship Department will
present a day-long workshop to focus on being
aware of and learning how to better tell the
life-changing stories from our faith tradition and
in our midst here in the local churches of our
Vermont Conference. We'll tell our own
stories. We'll listen to the stories of
others. We'll remember the powerful, shared
stories of scripture and our tradition, and
imagine new ways to refresh our own and our
churches' sacred stories. We'll learn
storytelling arts, and find new ways to tell
stories that draw the mysteries of the Spirit out
of our hearts and keep listeners on the edge of
their seats. And through stories told with
words and in song, or through new media, around
the table and in worship together, we'll celebrate
the very particular and personal ways that Christ
is changing lives in and through our
congregations.
So Save The Date!
May 1st 2010 - In Randolph
- Registration Information, a Brochure and
Flier Coming Within the Week!
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A New
StillSpeaking Commercial is
Coming! |
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The United Church of Christ
will launch its next "God is Still Speaking"
commercial on April 16, utilizing the church's
best broadcasting arsenal: its own members.
"Yes, a new Stillspeaking ad is
coming," says the Rev. Felix Carrion, coordinator
of the UCC's Stillspeaking Ministry, "and what
makes this debut so significant is that we are
counting on the moxy of our million-plus
supporters to spiral this viral message around the
world."
"We're asking people to set aside that
morning - April 16 - for unparalleled texting,
Twittering, Facebooking and emailing of this new
spot," he says.
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Energy Efficiency and
Historical Integrity: Can We Do
Both? |
In these days, the
energy efficiency of our sanctuaries and other
buildings is getting a lot of attention. As we try
to be 'greener', do we need to compromise the
original beauty of our buildings?
As
your congregation addresses its weatherization and
energy efficiency needs, you can make use of this
guide from the National Trust for Historic
Preservation. Historic buildings CAN be
weatherized in a manner that both saves on energy
costs AND maintains the historic integrity of the
building. (For example, historic windows are not
the enemy of sustainability!)
Click here to visit a
weatherization guide from the National Trust for
Historic
Preservation. |
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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... |
A
little girl became restless as the preacher's
sermon dragged on
and on. Finally,
she leaned over to her mother and
whispered,
"Mommy, if we give him
the money now, will he let us
go?"
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Do you know what the most
important part of any Stewardship drive is? It's
saying Thank You. And meaning
it.
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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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