Here’s the Rev. Dr. Beth McCaw’s current metaphor on where many church leaders find themselves these days: the pandemic has catapulted them into the air — maybe involuntarily — and they’re still airborne.
Most people pass by First Presbyterian Church in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, noting its beautiful historic sanctuary.
It sat on a one-way street, and the 1950s addition to the much larger sanctuary barely merited a backwards glance.
But when the city of Manitowoc changed the street to a two-way, Rev. Matt Sauer, the church’s pastor, began to see that 1950s addition as a blank canvas — and an opportunity.
“Tell the story of Center Church honestly: the good, the bad and the ugly.”
This guiding principle framed the Rev. Tom Moore’s workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2022. Moore told participants the story of Center Presbyterian Church in McMurray, Pennsylvania, showing the importance of honesty and transparency when it comes to the church and its finances.
Reflecting the ecumenical spirit of Stewardship Kaleidoscope, Mark Stauffer, past Council president and treasurer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the Rev. Joseph Moore, Ministry Relations Officer of the Presbyterian Foundation, co-presented a workshop called “Stewardship After the Gift.”
The view from the 15th-floor hotel conference room of Savannah’s Historic Landmark District was impressive. Tall church steeples reaching to the sky testified to the generosity of congregations over the centuries. But in a contemporary church world where dedication to Christian faith is flagging, what can pastors and ministry leaders do to revive the spirit of giving?
Dr. Keisha E. McKenzie told the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty during his Leading Theologically broadcast last month she’s drawn to biblical characters with vision, including the prophet Jeremiah and John of Patmos, especially the latter with his “vision of a new Earth populated by an uncountable number of people from all kinds of backgrounds.” Her affinity is for “people who have learned what it is to be just and faithful and true and kind. A community of love as practice — that’s the vision John was drawn to.”
Stewardship isn’t an act. It’s an attitude.
This is how Carson Brown, Director of Christian Education at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, Florida, started his workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope, an annual conference focused on stewardship, generosity and finances for churches. The conference was held both virtually and in person in Savannah, Georgia, Sept. 26- 28.
What feelings do you get when you think about fundraising?
Does raising funds feel like a “necessary evil?”
Do you grudgingly invite financial participation and maybe only when the budget is low?
