Many people find it difficult to talk about money and financial matters. And most parishes find it difficult to talk about financial stewardship. And yet, neither households nor churches can run without money or talking about how to receive and manage it.
Knowing this, the diocesan Stewardship Committee has been planning for some time to produce a video, interviewing members of a parish that has made important strides forward in terms of their approach to financial stewardship to help inspire and offer practical advice and ideas for other parishes.
This spring, those plans were realized. The Learning Commons will soon be posting a video in which Anglicans from the Parish of the Valley, particularly Holy Trinity Pembroke, share what they have learned in their efforts to deal with financial challenges and to build a healthy and effective approach to stewardship.
In April, Carole Breton, diocesan director of Communications and Development, travelled to Pembroke with a small team, including videographer Karl Chatel, to interview one of the Parish of the Valley’s associate incumbents, the Rev. Gillian Hoyer, and Marie Cheesman, member of diocesan council and former chair of Holy Trinity’s Ministry and Money Working Group, about their successful approaches to stewardship and the important lessons they have learned along the way.
“Jesus talked about money more than he talked about just about anything else in the recorded words that we have in the gospels,” said Hoyer. “And so, I think that how we steward our money, how we steward our time, our gifts, are such an important part of what it means to be a holistic and healthy Christian and healthy Christian community….Stewardship is a part of our life together.”
Cheesman explained that the challenges Holy Trinity faced are likely very similar to those faced by many congregations.
They found that the pattern of financial offerings were very heavily weighted at the end of each year, but such uneven givings made it difficult for the church to pay its bills and expenses through the rest of the year.
The number of parishioners using pre-authorized remittance (PAR) to give regularly was dwindling as parishioners aged and new parishioners were not signing up to replace that.
A historic church building and other needs required funds to maintain and invest in the life of the congregation.
Some of the ways they addressed these challenges were:
- Creating a Pentecost stewardship campaign to encourage giving at an earlier point in the year
- A creative person in the parish made low-cost video vignettes asking parishioners what Holy Trinity meant to them, which spurred everyone to reflect on what they love about their community.
- Using ready-made stewardship campaign resources available through the diocesan church’s membership in The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) and tailoring them to suit the congregation
- Applying for government grants, which added up to $100,000 in additional funds that have helped with renovations and purchases such as much-needed new tables and chairs for the parish hall.
Both Hoyer and Cheesman offer practical and kind advice to other parishes who may be feeling daunted and wondering where to begin to address financial needs in their congregations or parishes. Start small, they said. Hoyer said the first step for the clergy team in the Parish of the Valley was writing just one letter that went out to everyone in the parish. But the essential take-away was not to be afraid and just start.
Watching and discussing the 10-minute video posted as a resource on the Learning Commons page of the diocesan website will now provide another way for congregations or parishes to begin their own stewardship journeys.
The video is part of a series of way to engage called “Stewardship in Action — Voices from Across the Diocese” video, social media, Learning Commons content, stories in Perspective. This stewardship video marks the first of the new series of content.
Videographer Karl Chatel filmed and edited the interviews with Marie Cheesman and the Rev. Gillian Hoyer to produce a stewardship resource for the Learning Commons page of the diocesan website.
Learning Commons: Helping Parishes Thrive
Resources from The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) are available to all parishes and congregations at no cost through the diocesan membership.
TENS Annual Pledge Campaign Materials
Each pledge campaign Zip file has complete resources a fall pledge campaign for the Liturgical Year and includes:
Logos and artwork
Seasonal Meditations on Generosity
Sample Letters from Clergy, Wardens, Committee, and Thank-you notes
Pledge Cards
Formation Resources for adults and families
Weekly Meditations to use during the campaign season
Liturgical Resources and Prayers of the People for your campaign season
Past years’ resources are also available, so parishes can choose a theme that best speaks to their community.
The password for this year is Matthew22:4 . Please note that there are no spaces, and the password is case sensitive. You are invited to share this password widely through newsletters, websites, and social media to help your community access these tools. The password will remain active until February 2027, when the renewal period concludes.
https://www.adolearningcommons.ca/toolkit/ado-learning-commons/topics/financial-stewardship?tab=nav-stewardship-tab
A note of thanks