Useful and effective stewardship resources for congregations.
2022 Diocesan Stewardship Webinar Series - in collaboration with The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)
Once again, TENS is excited to partner with the Diocese of Southern Virginia to deliver stewardship formation, training, and best practices for congregations. This year’s series builds on our work last year, and deepens our theological understanding of generosity and abundance and looks at how our programs, stewardship approaches, and church finances can be aligned to promote mission and ministry. Whether you joined us for all or some of last year’s workshops, or you’re new this year, we welcome you. Our 90-minute free virtual workshops are geared toward lay and clergy stewardship leaders, beginners and experts alike. We will meet on select Wednesday evenings at 6:30 in April, May, June, and August. To learn more about TENS and to stay abreast of the latest learning and teaching on stewardship, visit https://tens.org/ and join the mailing list.
Creating a Culture of Generosity - April 27, 2022
Together we will look at some of our own practices and experiences with the power of our money and our habits in spending, saving, giving, and investing. We’ll explore our motivations and our journeys with our finances and our philanthropy as we deepen our understanding of a Holistic Stewardship – alignment of our wealth, works, and wisdom.
For the Creating a Culture of Generosity webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides click here.
Reviewing and Promoting Financial Goals in Ministry Context - May 18, 2022
How do you know what your neighbors need from your church? How do you match your ministry with the needs of your community? We’ll explore strategies in neighborhood assessments and ministry visioning. We will also explore how to employ transparency and accountability in our finances and in how we report our finances and stewardship to ensure our message about mission is coming through.
For the Reviewing and Promoting Financial Goals in Ministry Context webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides click here.
Creating and Growing Legacy Societies and Planned Giving - August 17, 2022
Every one of our churches stands on the foundation laid by those who came before, whose inspirational and legacy gifts provided the land, building, and early mission for our congregation. Each generation has an opportunity to leave its mark on the work and the future of our church. Learn about the importance of planned giving and legacy societies in your congregational revenue streams. Whether your congregation is just starting this work, or looking to reinvigorate its legacy society, we welcome you to this session.
For the Creating and Growing Legacy Societies and Planned Giving webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides click here.
Intergenerational Motivations in Stewardship WEBINAR POSTPONED - WILL BE RESCHEDULED AT A LATER DATE TO BE DETERMINED
As Bob Dylan sang, “The Times, they are a-changing!” Our approach to church finances and stewardship will need to adapt to the methods, motivations, and means of Late Gen-X, Millennial and Gen-Z donors as they begin to grow in number and their giving increases. Learn some tips and tools on how to adopt donor-centric fundraising strategies for your church budget and mission.
2021 Stewardship Webinar Series - in collaboration with The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)
Virtual Stewardship 201 - April 7, 2021
(To see the TENS Virtual Stewardship 101 webinar from July 2020, please visit the TENS website, www.tens.org.)
For the Virtual Stewardship 201 webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides click here.
To access the articles mentioned in the webinar click here.
For the onlne giving platforms mentioned in the webinar click here.
Mid-Year Mission Review - May 5, 2021
For the Mid-Year Mission Review webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides in English click here.
For the webinar slides in Spanish click here.
Year-Round Stewardship - June 23, 2021
For the Year-Round Stewardship webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides in English click here.
For the webinar slides in Spanish click here.
For the Year-Round Deep Dive tool mentioned in the webinar click here.
For Annual Pledge Campaign resoursces for Every Perfect Gift 2021 click here. (Password protected - contact the diocese to obtain the password.)
Breaking Through the Pledge Plateau - August 18, 2021
For the Breaking Through the Pledge Plateau webinar recording click here.
For the webinar slides click here.
For more information about how to create a narrative budget click here.
For information on online donor forms click here.
For a bibliography of stewardship resources click here.
Stewardship Resources
The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS)
The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) membership benefits are available to all parishes through our diocesan membership. Benefits include formation and training resources, webinars, giving campaign materials and new ideas and insights from contributing bloggers. If you would like to use these materials, please email Lynn Farlin at lfarlin@diosova.org to receive the login information for www.tens.org. We encourage everyone to begin making plans for starting a year round stewardship program. To help you get started, go to www.tens.org/resource-library/.
Episcopal Church Foundation free webinars
The Episcopal Church Foundation, in their on-going efforts to assist congregations in developing their leadership and financial resources, offer a wide range of web conferences for clergy and lay parish leaders. There is no cost to participate in most of the web conferences and all lay and clergy leaders are welcome to participate. Topics include vestry leadership (in English and in Spanish), engaging congregations with local communities, capital campaigns, clergy transition, annual giving, endowments, and planned giving. Click here for more.
2017 Council Keynote Speaker - The Rev. Canon Timothy Dombek
We were fortunate to have The Rev. Canon Timothy Dombek as speaker at 2017 Annual Council; Timothy is Canon for Stewardship in Diocese of Arizona and rector of The Church of the Advent, Sun City West, Arizona. Timothy also serves on the board of TENS and is in much demand as a stewardship speaker. Below are his slides and other resources from those presentations:
Click here for recordings of Dombek's presentations.
Year-Round Giving
Year-round Stewardship ideas and Year-round Stewardship You Can do, presented by the Rev. Canon Timothy Dombek at our Stewardship Conference
Stewardship with Young People
Talking Stewardship: A Gift to Young People
Generations and Stewardship
Sharing Stewardship with Children
Planned Giving Resources
The Episcopal Church Foundation provides information, literature and best of all the financial knowledge to get your program off the ground. Go to www.ecfvp.org. The best place to start is “Start Planned Giving from Scratch”. Next, check out this wonderful tool box of information, http://www.ecfvp.org/tools/topics/planned-giving. Here you will learn about the types of ways to make planned gifts as well as a key step, which is to form a Legacy Society. Those people who have already included your parish in their will or other plans
Other Stewardship Resources
Episcopal Church USA Stewardship Resources - www.episcopalchurch.org/page/stewardship
The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (see additional resources at link in paragraph above) - www.tens.org
Episcopal Church Foundation - www.episcopalfoundation.org
Generous Giving - www.generousgiving.org
Church Publishing - www.churchpublishing.org/categories?n=190
Transforming Stewardship by C.K. Robertson - a vision of holistic stewardship, including a study guide - www.churchpublishing.org/products/transformingstewardship
Luther Seminary Stewardship Resource Bank - www.luthersem.edu/stewardship/
Essential Reading
Ask, Thank, Tell, Charles R. Lane, Augsburg Fortress
Transforming Stewardship, C.K. Robertson, Church Publishing
Creating Congregations of Generous People, Michael Durall, Alban Institute
One Minute Stewardship: Creative Ways to Talk about Money in Church, Charles Cloughen, Church Publishing
Stewardship in Uncertain Times
Reset your Stewardship Ministry--Crisis Response to COVID-19 by Clayton Smith offers a few helpful tips as we move into a season when many parishes are focused on stewardship. Key among the tips: a focus on pastoral care.
COVID-19 Reminds Us of Crucial Church Finance Safeguards by Lovett Weems gives sound advice on healthy financial practices for parishes.
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership also has many other helpful resources related to stewardship.
Stewardship 2020: Pastoral Approaches and Practical Steps - Stewardship season—just like the school year, the football season, and everything else—will look different this fall, but there are real strengths and blessings to be found for pastors and stewardship leaders.
Stewardship of Creation Resources
How we protect the earth is an expression of our faith. Care and justice for all creation is a core value of The Episcopal Church. Eco-justice ministries seek to heal, defend, and work toward justice for all God's creation and to respect the kinship and connection of all that God created through education, advocacy, and action. Our fifth Mark of Mission is to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. For more information: diosovagreen@gmail.com
Earth Ministry
A national leader in engaging the faith community in environmental stewardship and advocacy. Their Greening Congregations Program was the first in the country to help houses of worship implement sustainable practices. It offers a partnership with Earth Ministry and a flexible strategy for engaging your faith community in creation-care efforts. Their advocacy program is on the cutting edge of empowering clergy and lay leaders to speak out on public policy issues. www.earthministry.org
The Episcopal Ecological Network
a nationwide network within the Episcopal Church USA that coordinates with the Peace and Justice Ministries Office of the Episcopal Church USA. They are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and find their roots in the Celtic Spirituality of this tradition. The EpEN includes all concerned Episcopalians who are helping our Church assume a leadership role in the worldwide environmental movement, just as our Church leads in other peace and justice issues. www.eenonline.org
Season of Creation
Offers worshippers an opportunity to turn their full attention toward God the creator and toward their relationship with the whole creation. As an optional season, it is most commonly celebrated between Creation Day on September 1 and St Francis of Assisi Day on October 4. www.seaasonofcreation.com and www.letallcreationpraise.org
Interfaith Power & Light
mobilizing a religious response to global warming. It's mission is to be faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. www.interfaithpowerandlight.org and www.coolcongregations.org
Spiritual Ecology
an exploration of the spiritual dimension of our present ecological crisis. In particular these resources explore the interrelationship between our outer, physical ecological situation, our awareness of the sacred in creation, and our inner relationship to the symbolic world of the soul—and how this effects our own soul and the soul of the world, the anima mundi. www.spiritualecology.org
Printed Resources
The Green Bible. Published by HarperCollins, available here
Greening Congregations Handbook: Stories, Ideas, and Resources for Cultivating Creation Awareness and Care in Your Congregation. Published by Earth Ministry, available here
