The Tithe and Leadership

by Archdeacon Howard Stringfellow
8 December 2011

What plan do you have, or does your parish have, for beginning to tithe?  By its nature, because of its costliness, tithing cannot begin accidentally.  You begin intentionally if you begin.

Dan Charney, the Stewardship Missioner of the Diocese, preaches passionately and eloquently about the tithe, or the practice of giving ten percent of one’s income or produce to the Lord.  Since I came to this Diocese in 1993, I have heard more here about tithing than I had heard altogether before or since from other people including clergy.  Tithing enjoys a long and widespread history.  Religions of people other than the Israelites refer to it and expect it.  Dan’s ministry stakes the claim that tithing is expected here also, and I admire him for it.  He witnesses no failure of nerve on this subject, and he is the better leader for taking a stand.

He is of age; we can ask him, of course, but his stewardship talks have emphasized three reasons to tithe that I list in the priority he gives them.

Financial Sanity Seminar at Trinity, Easton: how to build sane financial values.

Who’s shaping your money habits?

What are healthy money habits and how can we develop them?

When it comes to teaching children about money, parents have a choice. They can either allow today’s culture of immediate gratification to inform the money decisions their kids make or choose the better option of using their own family values, goals and actions to help them shape a narrative around money.

Dan Charney, a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Easton and Stewardship Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, will present The Financial Sanity Seminar that was designed for families and adults by Nathan Dungan, founder and President of Share Save Spend®. The Financial Sanity Seminar will consist of four one hour sessions for youth ages 8 and over, and adults for the purpose of starting sane conversations about money in the home.

These conversations can go a long way toward helping youth and adults understand the cause of money challenges, reasons why people are slaves to the lender, and what can be done to avoid or escape the trap of the advertising agencies.

This seminar will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 234 Spring Garden St., Easton, PA on March 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2012*,  from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the Langner Lounge in the Parish Hall. The cost is $14.00 for the participant’s book; one for each adult and youth participant is required. To register for this seminar go to SignupGenius.com.

(You may pay the registration fee by returning to the home page and clicking on "Donate." Please indicate "Financial Sanity Seminary" in the comments.)

Nathan Dungan, founder and President of Share Save Spend ®, has for over 20 years been an industry thought-leader on helping youth and adults link their money decisions to their values. “We are living in uncharted economic waters. Now, more than ever, it is critical that faith communities convene multi-generational conversations that not only help to alleviate fear and anxiety, but also inspire and motivate youth and adults in the choices they make with money.” With Share Save Spend®, we have a unique opportunity to offer opportunities for conversation with a hopeful message and practical tools that youth and adults can use to re-balance their money habits in ways that honor their values.

For information, please call Trinity Episcopal Church in Easton at 610-253-0792. Trinity is located on Spring Garden Street between Second and Third Street. www.trinityeaston.org.

Sign up  here.

* = Note: Please note the change in dates. It is rescheduled from November, 2011.

Financial Sanity Seminar at Trinity Easton

[From Canon Andrew Gerns}

Financial Sanity Seminar
November 7, 14, 21 & 28

Who’s shaping your money habits?

What are healthy money habits and how can we develop them?

When it comes to teaching children about money, parents have a choice. They can either allow today’s culture of immediate gratification to inform the money decisions their kids make or choose the better option of using their own family values, goals and actions to help them shape a narrative around money.

Dan Charney, a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Easton and Stewardship Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, will present The Financial Sanity Seminar that was designed for families and adults by Nathan Dungan, founder and President of Share Save Spend®. The Financial Sanity Seminar will consist of four one hour sessions for youth ages 8 and over, and adults for the purpose of starting sane conversations about money in the home.

These conversations can go a long way toward helping youth and adults understand the cause of money challenges, reasons why people are slaves to the lender, and what can be done to avoid or escape the trap of the advertising agencies.

This seminar will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 234 Spring Garden St., Easton, PA on November 7, 14, 21, 28 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm in the Langner Lounge in the Parish Hall. The cost is $14.99 for the participant’s book; one for each adult and youth participant is required. To register for this seminar go to SignupGenius.com.

Nathan Dungan, founder and President of Share Save Spend ®, has for over 20 years been an industry thought-leader on helping youth and adults link their money decisions to their values. “We are living in uncharted economic waters. Now, more than ever, it is critical that faith communities convene multi-generational conversations that not only help to alleviate fear and anxiety, but also inspire and motivate youth and adults in the choices they make with money.” With Share Save Spend®, we have a unique opportunity to offer opportunities for conversation with a hopeful message and practical tools that youth and adults can use to re-balance their money habits in ways that honor their values.

For information, please call Trinity Episcopal Church at 610-253-0792.

Sign up here.

Diocesan Life for July/August 2011

 

You can download the .pdf version here as well: Download July-August2011_DiocesanLife_SMALL

Jesus Loves a Growing Seed, May 14 (Corrected)

Download the flyer in .pdf here:

Download Jesus loves a growing seed flyer-REVISED

Diocesan Training Day on April 2nd

Registration opens today and closes March 23rd. Cost is $17.50 and includes lunch.

A day set aside for learning about opportunities and resources for ministry in congregations, and celebrating ministries we share. There will be 13 different workshops spanning all aspects of ministry to select from this year. Please plan to join us for a wonderful day of learning.

Workshops include:
All Day Workshops (one workshop in both sessions)

#1 Ministry of the Lay Eucharistic Visitor (all day workshop) - The Rev. Edward Erb -- Two-part course leads to licensing. Morning session - Biblical, theological, and historical background. Afternoon session - resources and practical considerations (ex. HIPAA rules, safety, and health concerns)

#2 Understanding and Working with ChurchPost (all day workshop) - Mr. John Goodell, Owner of ChurchPost -- A hands-on guide to using ChurchPost, our electronic newsletter platform, to communicate effectively and immediately with your members and visitors.

Session I - 9:45am to 11:15am

#3 Wardens/Vestry 101 - The Rt. Rev. Paul Marshall and The Ven. Howard Stringfellow - Introduction for new wardens and vestry members or a refresher for experienced vestry members to the roles, responsibilities, and realities of parish leadership.

#4 Bringing Financial Sanity to the Family - Mr. Dan Charney - The program, Financial Sanity, designed by Nathan Dungan, founder and president of Share Save Spend, consists of four one-hour sessions.  This training helps you to become familiar with the program, and will cover session one of the program to give participants a feel for what it is all about.

#5 Transitional Formation in Parishes - Ms. Kim Rowles - In periods of individual transition it is especially important to support and lead members in our communities to an intentional life with Christ, this session will help outline a plan for individual parishes dealing with middle to high school transition, high school to college transition, and couples to family transition.

#6 - Come Let Us Worship - A Workshop for the Laity and Clergy - The Rev. Laura Howell & The Rev. John Francis - This session will explore some of the tools the Book of Common Prayer gives us for daily worship.  It will provide some practical suggestions for parish prayer that may be led by the laity as well as the clergy.

#7 - Evangelism as Prayer and Faith Sharing - The Rev. Jane Bender, The Rev. Doug Moyer,  and Mrs. Carol Keane - The Unbinding the Gospel series doesn't give answers as to how, when and where.  Come learn how many ways this lively resource can be tailored for your use.


Session II -- 1:15pm to 2:45pm

#8 Enabling Ministries: Forward Life Planning - Mr. Charlie Barebo - Develop your parish's capabilities to deliver ministries by strengthening its approach to Forward Life Planning.

#9 Treasurers’ Workshop - Mr. Bruce Reiner -- This workshop will focus on cash receipts, cash disbursements, internal controls, and audits.

#10 - The Confirmation Conundrum - The Rev. Canon Anne Kitch - Explores the rite of Confirmation and the many questions it raises.  Includes an overview of the history of Confirmation in the Episcopal Church and the theology of Confirmation as it is express in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

#11 - Health Ministries - Mrs. Diana Marshall - Health ministry plays a unique and critical role in facilitating the health of clergy, staff and congregations.  Health ministry looks different from congregation to congregation, reflecting the unique needs, interests, and resources of the faith community.

#12 - Incorporating New members into the Episcopal Church - The Rev. Canon Andrew Gerns- The course will introduce a simple, easy-to-understand, process of incorporating new members into a congregation. It will also describe various kinds of visitors and newcomers and show how to integrate the worship and theology of the Episcopal Church into our evangelism.

#13 - Training for Regional Discernment Teams - Members of the Commission on Ministry - This training session is designed to help both clergy and laity understand the purpose and structure of regional discernment as practiced in the Diocese of Bethlehem.

You can click here to register. Download the Diocesan Training Day brochure on our web site here.

Share Save Spend Workshop, June 12 in Whitehall

[From Dan Charney, Diocesan Stewardship Missioner]

God's Way or My Way?  Which path will be best...? How can we best manage our money for God's purposes?  

The Diocesan Stewardship Commission is pleased to offer you the opportunity to hear and learn from a leader in the field. On June 12 at St. Stephen's in Whitehall, Nathan Dungan, President of Share Save Spend will offer some of his 20 years experience helping youth and adults link their money decisions to their values..  
 
"Nathan Dungan has a philosophy and framework for financial planning in families that redirects attention to values and makes the distinction between wants and needs....It has changed the way I've talked about money and lived about money with my children."
                                                                       Krista Tippett, host of NPR's Speaking of Faith
 
Each diocesan parish has received a brochure and poster containing seminar details.  Please speak to your priest, Sr. Warden, or parish information contact to receive a copy.
 
Whether or not you can attend the workshop, you can help us by downloading and sharing the attached poster with folks you know who would find the day important. Attached also is an article by Nathan Dungan.
 
Register online at www.diobeth.org by choosing Diocesan Event Registration.  Or call Rosie Hummel at 610-691-5655.  Registration closes June 1.

Dan Charney, Stewardship Missioner

Download 2010.ShareSaveSpend Poster.pdf

Download 2010.Dungan.ConfrontingtheConsumerCarnival.pdf

Forward Life Planning Workshop, May 22

[From Charlie Barebo] The Forward Life Planning Workshop, presented by Charles Cesaretti, Diana Marshall and Charlie Barebo, will be held on Saturday, May 22 at St. Luke's, Scranton. Although sponsored by the congregations in the Northern Tier, this workshop is open to all congregations in the Diocese of Bethlehem. Please note that registration and luncheon are free.  However, for planning please call Ely Valentin, 610-691-5655 x 222, or email [email protected]. The program has both pastoral (PB, pg. 445), as well as institutional implications, since many of our congregations have benefited through the planned gifts of former parishioners to the parish's Endowment Fund. Download the pdf file below.

Download Forward Life Planning.pdf

 

Consecration Sunday Summer Workshops

Get an early start on your Fall Stewardship Campaign planning...mark your calendars now for the ANNUAL CONSECRATION SUNDAY ASSISTANCE SESSIONS, June 17th at 7:00 P.M. (Emmaus - St. Margaret's and Scranton - Good Shepherd)

New Consecration Sunday is a proven annual appeal program used successfully by more than 25 denominations. It teaches stewardship on the basis of 'the need of the giver to give” for his or her own spiritual growth, rather than on the basis of "the need of the church to receive". It focuses on the question "What is God calling me to do?" For more information and to register, please download the flyer below. Deadline for registration is June 15th.
Download 090529CSSummerSessionsflyer.

Green Eyeshades and Rose-colored Glasses

(From Alban Institute) Congregational budget-makers frequently divide into two camps that approach the task in different ways...There is nothing wrong with it, so long as people see themselves as members of one team and value one another's contributions. But too often, the division becomes rigid--one group always thinks of ways to spend more money; the other always says we can't afford it.
Read the article by Dan Hotchkiss here.

Evangelism/Stewardship Workshop, April 25

At the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, April 25, 9:00 t 3:00. Presenter: Terry Parsons.

Download brochure below:
Download 2009Evan:StewWrkshpBrochure

A businessperson reflects on stewardship

[Imported from the Nov. 7 weekly email update of St. Paul's Montrose, ultimately from the Lutheran Stewardship Website. Author unknown, a the moment.]

As some of you may know, my background and experience for the first thirty years of my career was in business, mainly the food and packaging of food products for large corporations as well as Mom and Pop companies. I did business in every state in the Union from Jimmy Dole’s pineapples in Hawaii to Long Island Kosher in New York and several companies in Europe as well. Then in the mid 1990’s I switched my focus to working with congregations for the ELCA and have been doing some coaching/ writing ever since.

In all that time I have never coached or worked with any company or organization that was growing and reaching their goals --- that was not in a constant state of change. Their mission seldom changed as they all focused on providing the finest quality to as many people as possible, but the way they attempted to reach their potential customers and motivate them to buy their products was in perpetual change.

Money Isn't/Is Everything –– Workshop on Stewardship and Planned Giving

Under One Roof (the partnership of the parishes in the Northern Tier of the Diocese of Bethlehem) will offer a special workshop to explore the role that money plays in our daily lives and in our faith. The workshop is scheduled for late September (Sept. 20, from 9:30 to 2:00, at St. Paul's Montrose) in time to assist, guide, and resource parishes for their stewardship programs.

We live in a money-dominated culture. We are constantly told that the amount of money we earn determines who we are. We are promised that having more money will make us happy. Yet the relentless focus on money and accumulation of wealth can fill us with anxiety and self-doubt that rob us of the peace and contentment that Jesus promises in his Sermon on the Mount.

As Christians, we must wrestle with some of life’s most basic questions: How much money is enough? Who is master: my money or me? What do I truly rely on for security: money or God? By examining our beliefs about money, and what Jesus had to say about money and wealth, we can start to live in ways that are connected, passionate, meaningful, and -- most importantly -- free. We can learn how to help our communities of faith engage in the work of changing lives and challenging the status quo, just as our Lord did on this earth. We can participate in building the kingdom of God.

Join Dan Charney and Char Horst, Missioners for Stewardship and Development, respectively, in open and frank discussion about the meaning of money and its role in life and ministry. All are most welcome. There is no charge for this workshop. Lunch and refreshments are included. Please register by September 15 with Brenda Allen at St. Paul’s Montrose by phone 570-278-2954, or email. Please put UOR in the subject line.

The Journey from Maintenance to Mission

Growth in stewardship ... Characteristics of giving. Download "The Journey" below.

Download 0712.Maintenance to Mission.pdf

This is a call ...

A "Sunday before New Consecration Sunday" talk by Joe Jackloski, a member of Grace Church, Kingston. Download it below.

Download 0711.Jackloski.This is a call.pdf

Stewardship Nuggets

From:  Dan Charney, Missioner for Stewardship

To:     All who seek preaching material for Stewardship homilies

Topic: Herb Miller's Nuggets: Volume 30. How to Talk with People about Financial Giving: 12 Biblically Based Messages that Motivate. By Bill Couch. Cost: $19.00

 

 

Download more info and order form below.

Download nuggetsvolume_30.pdf

Stewardship Conference

Download the brochure for the Stewardship Conference to be held Saturday, May 19, at Trinity, West Pittston. Direct questions to Dan Charney.

Download StewEvanWrkshpBrochure.pdf

Money and Faith Retreat

Download below a brochure announcing a Money and Faith Retreat led by The Rev. Kirk "Chief" Kubicek to on June 15-16, 2007, at Kirkridge Conference Center for clergy and partners.

Download brochure.Money&Faith Retreat.pdf

Stewardship: Prepare the soil in the spring

Diocesan stewardship missioner Dan Charney suggests to parishes interested in improving their stewardship that spring preparedness is needed for a plentiful harvest. Read Dan's column below and plan to attend a meeting on June 28 in Kingston or Emmaus to help facilitate your planning for the New Consecration Sunday program.

Download charney.0604.Spring Preparedness.pdf

 

Classified in West Pittston

As part of the stewardship program in West Pittston, Trinity parishioners are encouraged to match their resources with specific parish needs. The invitation is offered to the parish membership through the regular distribution of a handout designed to resemble a classified advertisement. Download excerpts below.

Download west_pittston.Classified.pdf