Acclaimed author, journalist and lecturer A.J. Jacobs will be the featured speaker at the opening plenary for the Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference on Monday, Sept. 26.
Registration has officially opened for Stewardship Kaleidoscope, an annual conference offering outstanding plenary speakers, informative workshop leaders, provocative worship experiences and unparalleled networking opportunities for all who are passionate about stewardship and generosity.
The Rev. Dr. Brandi Casto-Waters learned a lot in seminary, but, she admits, not everything.
For example, she didn’t have a full understanding of the effects of asbestos until she served at a church that had some that had to be removed. She said she didn’t know how problematic termite infestation could be until the church’s sanctuary was being tented and treated for it.
What’s great about small churches?
Lots, says the Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley, Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation. Small churches have strengths, she says, and those can be celebrated year-round, and especially during seasons of stewardship emphasis.
In 2020, 28% of all charitable gifts went to religious institutions, said the Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley, the Presbyterian Foundation’s Ministry Relations Officer for the Allegheny and Chesapeake Region.
Only 8% of Americans gave bequests to a church.
What happens when we rethink our paradigms of stewardship?
Do we give out of obedience, or out of abundance?
Do we tithe out of obligation, or do we share out of gratitude?
These were just a few of questions that Dr. Deborah Rexrode, associate for stewardship for the Presbytery of the James, posed to her workshop attendees in the session that she led entitled “Giving as a Spiritual Discipline” at the 2021 Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference Sept. 14.
Talking about death is difficult. Yet planned giving, especially in congregational contexts, can clarify what’s important to us and how that can benefit others long after we’re gone.
