Unlike many of the for-purchase stewardship programs that instruct you to mail this letter on that day, etc., I hope to enable you to design an annual stewardship process that will be the basis for your campaign every year. That’s right! This is the last annual process you will ever need! Once you understand which elements to include and why, you will never need to purchase another off-the-shelf program.

While few of us in the world have control over so much unspoiled land, if any land at all, the story does have a very rich parallel with American life today. This family, through no merit of its own, has control over pristine land.  They did nothing to earn it, or deserve it, other than be heirs of the right people. And their underlying dilemma is whether to use it for their own benefit, or preserve it for all Hawaiians.  In the United States today, we have control over a disproportionate percentage of the world's resources. And a tiny proportion of us have control over an even more disproportionate share. And we are challenged with whether we are going to use them for our own benefit or preserve them for all of humanity.  We have control of this huge percentage of the world's wealth and resources not because of anything we have done, or anything we have earned, but mostly because of who we are and where we were born.

This is the fundamental issue of stewardship. Do we use the world's resources that we control to benefit ourselves or to benefit all?  Some would argue that what we have is ours. Some would say that our own skills and resources have allowed us to gain more for ourselves, and we should benefit.  But I think the Gospel message is that everything we have and are is truly of God - and that our call is to use it for God's mission in the world. Our money, our environment, our communities, our very lives... none of it is ours.

What if we who have resources, whatever resources those might be, began to think about ourselves us trustees? Trustees are not entitled to use whatever resources they have for themselves.  It is true that in many circumstances, there are basic expenses that are part of maintaining the trusts.  But trustees primary concern must be for the beneficiaries of those trusts. And what if we were to understand all of God's creation to be the beneficiary? How would that change our view of what we have? How would that change the decisions we make with what we have? How would that begin to transform the world in which we live?

The scene: May vestry meeting.
The players: Rector, wardens, vestry, stewardship chair
The play opens with the Vestry moving rapidly through its normal course of business.

But if we are anything like the first witnesses to the resurrection at the end ofthe Gospel of Mark, we might admit that this can also be a time of confusion and uncertainty and, yes, even fear. This is one reason why I love Mark’s account. Commonly understood to be the earliest canonical Gospel, in it Jesus’ disciples often come off looking and sounding a lot like…me. I confess that I have long struggled with the verse in the well-known hymn that asserts, “Faith believes, nor questions how.” I believe, and yet I question all the time! Thankfully, I usually do not see myself in the role of Judas in his betrayals or Peter in his denials (note the disclaimer “usually”), but I can certainly relate to those first witnesses to Jesus’resurrection, who did not leave the empty tomb shouting from the roof tops “Christ is risen indeed!” but instead ran away fearful, unsure of what it all meant. This is all too familiar.

One of our more recent Presidents called this an "ownership society." Although probably correct, this was always presented as a virtuous thing. I think that, at least at some level, ought to be questioned. I am becoming increasingly concerned about our need to "own" things that are not ours to own. I would want to make the point that ownership is not always a good thing. I think, were we honest, we can say that the way we "own" people and things can get in the way of our true purpose. Think about it, we own our pews, we own our parking spaces, we own "the way we have always done things", we own what our communities look like, and who can be part of them, we own our faith, and before long, before we know it, we own God. No, we would never be able to admit that, but perhaps the most notable heresy is just that, to believe you control, own, or even worse, are God. "Owning" with the death grip we often have on such things, is getting mighty close to making ourselves God. It has been said there are no luggage racks on a hearse. It is true, you can't take it with you.

There are some times I wish I could simply blend in with the back pew and plead the fifth, not wanting to call attention to myself, my actions, or especially to my selfish actions! However, as a church leader, I often find myself up front and center, standing in a pulpit or behind an altar. I don’t particularly enjoy the spotlight when it comes to getting up close and personal about my stewardship practices. But over the years I have figured out that I have to come clean with the honest to God truth about my own commitment and giving if I expect anyone else to do likewise. When it comes time make a pledge, as much as I’d like to exit stage left, I am left with no choice but to take the lead, and personally participate in stewardship show and tell.

We are an eucharistic people; a people of praise and thanksgiving. This is not an abstract idea or an intellectual assent. Rather, it is an incarnational reality and we need to find meaningful and tangible ways to affirm gifts and express gratitude. The blessing of Easter comes to us as a community and shapes us a community; we receive this blessing more fully when we do something to celebrate that community. What would it look like in your congregation if, on each Sunday during Easter, you prayerfully and publicly thanked ministry leaders? Or what would it look like if you prayerfully and publicly commissioned, on Pentecost Sunday, your Stewardship Ministry Team, a team whose goal it is to model gratitude and generosity?

Feel free to use and adapt this commissioning prayer for a Stewardship Ministry Team, graciously given to me from the Stewardship Officer in the Diocese of Oklahoma.

Commissioning of the Stewardship Ministry Team

Pentecost

Celebrant: You have been called to be leaders at [name of church] aswe all seek to be stewards of God’s gifts to us. Your commitment to this calling flows from your awareness that all things come from God and return to God. Will you commit yourself to respond to God’s generosity through modeling generosity and inspiring openness to God’s love and the work of the Holy Spirit in this community?

Leaders:  I will

Celebrant (to the Congregation):  And will you, the community of [name of church], support the stewardship ministry with open hearts and fervent prayer as they seek to help all of us live lives of gratitude and generosity?

Response:  We will

Celebrant:  Let us pray. On this day your Spirit descended upon the first church overcoming barriers of language and culture and expanding the hearts and minds of those seeking your leading. Send your Spirit upon these leaders that they might challenge us to open our hearts to our true identity, our deepest calling and our ultimate concern. We offer these people to you that you might offer them back to us as sources of comfort and challenge as we seek to know who we are and what we are called to be and become. Amen.

In the name of the Giver and representing [name of church] community, I commission each of you as a minister of stewardship.

Knowing when and how to launch a capital campaign is vital to its success. However, the “right time” has much less to do with the aforementioned issues than you might think. For most parishes, the decision on timing has everything to do with clarity of vision and readiness of leaders to lead.

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen! These are the words we’ll be proclaiming at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, and at the Eucharist on Easter Day, and all during the great fifty days of Easter. Alleluia, the Lord is Risen!

The Church is in the midst of Holy Week. Many of us in orders renewed our vows at Chrism masses all over the country. We are walking toward the events of Thursday and Friday...  the gathering of friends for supper, the betrayal, the arrest, the humiliation of trial, and the death on the cross.

This week is the ultimate lesson in Christian stewardship.  God doesn't require 10% of what we have, 20% of what we have, or 30% of what we have.  God calls us to give everything.  Jesus gave up everything... even his life... in God's service, out of response to be who God called him to be, and in the midst of trying to create a glimpse of God's reign come near.  

There are raised eyebrows in the church when I say that I am not interested in raising money for the church.

One of my main responsibilities in the Diocese of New Hampshire - indeed half my job - is raising money in the diocese.  Since this recession began we have increased fundraising among our 5,000 attendees from $5,908,955 in 2008 to $7,595,743 in 2011.  A 29% increase during a recession is exciting and will do much good in New Hampshire as we work to make mission and ministry happen here.  But I still say, I am not interested in raising money for the diocese.  And they still raise their eyebrows. 

Toward the end of dinner, there was always something left on a plate in the middle of the table. Everyone would be staring at it, especially when it was a piece of meat, which was an occasional, special treat. But no one would make a move to take it. Then someone would say, “Why don’t you take it, Grandma? You are the oldest.” But my grandma would say, “No, I’ve been eating this stuff all my life. Give it to the little one. He’s the youngest and needs the nourishment to grow up to be big and strong.” Now all eyes were on me - the youngest. But I, who also learned this ritual, would say, “No, not me. I am completely full because I have the smallest stomach. Give it to my older brother. He has an examination at school tomorrow. He needs it so he can do well.” My oldest brother would say, “No, not me. Give it to my sister. She has a piano lesson tomorrow . . .” The ritual would go on around the table; each person would find an excuse not to take the leftover piece of food. While we offered it to each other, we also affirmed each other’s worthiness in the family. As a result, the piece of meat would sit in the middle of the table, destined to be left over, to be transformed into a new delicious dish the next day. The leftovers became a symbol of our appreciation of each other’s worth. This leftover piece of food became a sign of the abundance we shared –we can do more with less. (I first told this story of my childhood dinner table in my book Inclusion)

This is the sixth in a series that discusses William Strauss and Neil Howe’s theory of generations in American history, and its implications for stewardship.  Click Here to read Part One: Generations of Faith.  Click Here to read Part Two: Stewardship with the GI Generation.  Click Here to read Part Three: The Silent Generation: Not So Silent After All.  Click Here to read Part Four: Stewardship with the Baby Boomers.  Click Here to read Park Five: Generation X: Coming into Leadership.

These questions were very much on my mind as I entered Mission San Francisco Javier, in Loreta, Baja, California in early March 2012. 

During the 2009 Diocesan Convention in Los Angeles, I surveyed 37 congregations.  The majority of the congregations struggled with money issues. Where do we find the money to finance our ministries or how can we raise money to start a needed ministry?  The result of the survey started me on a journey – if I were to find and/or create resources that assist our local congregations to address the money issue, where do I begin?  I am not an economist.  I am not an accountant.  I am not a businessman.  I am not a stewardship officer of the church.  What authority do I have to even begin to address this issue? 

The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), in partnership with the Office of Stewardship of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, is thrilled to be accepting nominations for the Apostles in Transformational Stewardship Awards: First Fruits, More of the Best. There are so many amazing stories of transformational stewardship across the Episcopal Church. TENS seeks to lift up at least a few of these stories, share them with the broader church, and hope that they will serve as invitations to others in their stewardship work and journeys.

This is a basic lineup for Earth Sunday.  Some of these are initiatives that can be kicked-off this Sunday to be followed throughout the year.  Others are awareness actions.
 
WEAR GREEN - Encouraging everyone to wear something green for Earth Sunday!  In one parish a lady bought a "bug" shirt to wear each Earth Sunday!
 
RECYCLED GROCERY BAGS – Most grocers have reusable grocery bags for sale for $.99.  Consider purchasing some to hand out and ask for a trade-in of plastic grocery bags in return.  One small parish collected several hundred bags doing this.  Check your local grocer for Earth Day promotions on reusable bags and recycling plastic ones.
 
FLOWER SEEDS - Hand out a packet of flower seeds to every household that shows up this Sunday.  Place a computer printed label on them that reads:  The Episcopal Church - Good Stewards of God's Creation!  We made 5 of these packets with an "X" marked on them for a special Earth Day gift of garden gloves.

PLANT a TREE - The youth group can plant an oak tree in the church lawn.  This helps reduce CO2 and it will provide shade for the building for years to come - reducing energy consumption in the process!
 
PLANT a BEAN – The younger children will plant a bean in a small clay pot and hear a lesson on Stewardship of Creation.  They will take the bean pot home with them to care for it and watch it grow.
 
RECYCLE BINS -  Purchase recycle bins from recyclingbins.com.  Place one in your Parish Hall and one in your Youth Room for Cans and Plastics.  We chose the one with a mountain photo laminated on the sides for an even deeper message that this is about Creation.
 
GO CERAMIC -  Put Styrofoam cups to rest – replace them with ceramic coffee mugs with the church name and motto.  Yes, you will have to wash them, but that is part of the cost of authentically proclaiming the fullness of the Gospel message.  It also uses less energy and water than producing paper and/or compostable cups.  If you have a high speed commercial dishwasher in your kitchen that can do it in about 3 minutes, so for 100 cups it won't take too long.
 
GREEN CORNER – Put a Green Info spot in our monthly newsletter that gives tips on how you can live greener lives at home.  We plan to have an info sheet available with these on Sunday.
 
GREEN LIVING – Many newspapers publish a pull-out section on Earth Sunday on how to live greener lives at home and work.   Order extra copies of this section to be delivered Sunday morning to the church and pass those out.  We, also, will receive all of the local neighborhood extras that are not sold that Sunday, from your distributor on next Monday to have available for those who miss the Sunday event.

RECYCLE INFO -  Have information available about what can be recycled locally and what we are willing to collect to facilitate the ease of recycling for our members.
 
SERMON FOCUS – This is an issue which needs to be addressed from the pulpit.  It is part of the Gospel imperative to love one’s neighbor as ourselves and taking care of Creation is a ministry to which we are called in the first chapter of Genesis.  What we do as a church makes a statement about what we believe in our faith.  If we don’t take care of God’s creation what does that say to the world what we think about God?

In the summer of 1932 the national unemployment rate was 23.6% for all workers and 37% for farm laborers.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated to be his party’s standard bearer at the Democratic National Convention and the theme song was “Happy Days Are Here Again.”  How odd a choice of songs, for it was the Great Depression. 

Emmanuel Episcopal Church is a well-established, stable congregation in an affluent island community on Lake Washington between Seattle and Bellevue. And like many mainline congregations, we are a congregation that needs to be more responsive to the spiritual needs of a new generation of children and their parents. Sometimes that simply means reminding people of why it is we gather and why it is we support our congregation with offerings of money, time and talents.

There was a couple who were having serious issues in their marriage, mostly because of financial difficulties. After a stewardship sermon at church, they went home and had a huge discussion. They decided to sell their house and buy a smaller one. They did just that, and saved their marriage. In fact, their whole lives were changed.

"Preacher, if I did what you are saying I would not be able to pay my rent." 

So, I started off with a bang on Ash Wednesday and did pretty well during the first week of Lent. By the second week, however, I started to slip a bit. After all, I was traveling a good deal, a time when it’s hard to hit the gym and a bacon cheeseburger really tastes good after a long flight. There I go again – reneging on my commitments, succumbing to temptation and failing to take advantage of the opportunity that Lent provides to do things differently.