This is the place to find resources for this month's stewardship activities.  These are ideas for a stewardship activity or program for each month of the year.

 

March 2010 - Earth Day 2010

 

April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  This year's theme is: Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life

Our worship spaces belong to God, and in them we have the opportunity to honor God by taking seriously our roles as stewards of the earth.  There are many ways to be good stewards of the earth through our worship spaces, and Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life offers many ideas for congregations to improve facilities in the areas of:

• Energy efficiency and conservation
• Reducing toxic materials and products
• Water conservation
• Land and habitat conservation

Click Here to download this resource with plenty of time to begin implementing ideas before Earth Day, so your congregation can celebrate your successes on the Sunday before or after Earth Day.

Disaster Assistance to Chile

One Great Hour of Sharing is more important than ever with the earthquake in Chile.  Click Here to find out more about what your church is doing in response.

 

February 2010 - One Great Hour of Sharing & Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to Haiti

 

Start planning now for the One Great Hour of Sharing offering that is collected on Palm Sunday (March 28th) or Easter (April 4th).  This offering shares God’s love with people experiencing need.  Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance & resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities.   For more information and resources, Click Here.

 

Approximately one-third of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering goes to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which offers short and long-term disaster recovery assistance in the United States and worldwide.  PDA provided assistance in our Presbytery after the tornado and flooding in 2008.  Right now there is an urgent need in Haiti following the earthquake.  Don't wait until the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to contribute.  If your congregation has not already done so, plan a special offering in February to support the PDA's work in Haiti.

Click Here for more information on what you can do to help.  For a special report on the work being done in Haiti, Click Here.

 

January 2010 - Souper Bowl of Caring & Stewardship One-Liners

 

Plan on participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, 2010.  The Souper Bowl of Caring is fundamentally a faith initiative, as the idea was born of a prayer.  We seek to love God by loving our neighbors, and through this, young people will see that by God's grace, they can make a difference in the lives of others.  The Souper Bowl of Caring is an ideal way to engage communities in the fight against hunger and poverty.  It's simple enough to be done with limited resources and can be adapted to meet the needs of your congregation.  Click Here for more information.

 

Download the "One Line Blurbs for Stewardship for 2010" in Microsoft Word format.  There are one-liners for each Sunday plus a few extra.  Give a copy to whoever prepares the worship bulletins so they can insert a "Stewardship One-Liner" every week. 

 

December 2009 - Stewardship Planning for 2010

 

The harvest is in and it's time to start stewardship planning for next year. Most churches have committees for worship, Christian education, mission, personnel, facilities and finance. Frequently stewardship is considered a part of finance. Unfortunately, stewardship and finance are not the same thing and the stewardship activities are overlooked. This is a major oversight!  One of the essential roles of the church is promoting personal stewardship through teaching, preaching and by example. Click Here for help in putting together an annual stewardship plan for your church.

 

November 2009 - Christmas Joy Offering - "What Child is This?"

 

A Presbyterian tradition for almost 70 years, the Christmas Joy Offering supports Presbyterian-related racial ethnic education and assistance programs that provide support to retired and active church workers and their spouses and families.

 

The Christmas Joy Offering is usually received the Sunday before Christmas. Resources are mailed to each congregation in early September.  All of the resources are available by calling (800) 524-2612 or order online at Presbyterian Marketplace.

 

You are encouraged to support the Christmas Joy Offering with a congregational offering.  Click Here for more resources including a PowerPoint presentation and online video.

 

October 2009 - Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

 

There's a saying in real estate that the three most important things are "location, location and location".  In local church stewardship the three most important things are "communication, communication and communication".  One of the areas that churches have the worst communication is the church budget.  Now is the time to start working on better communication of your church budget, and the best way to start is with a narrative budget.  Click Here for more information on creating a narrative budget for your church this year.

 

September 2009 - Peacemaking Offering - Psalm 85:10, “Justice and peace shall kiss each other.”

 

The Peacemaking Offering supports our efforts to live out a deeper commitment to peacemaking as part of our faithfulness to God.  Most churches receive the Peacemaking Offering on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October, which this year is October 4.   Churches may use whatever Sunday works best for them.

 

Each congregation is encouraged to retain 25% of the Offering it receives to use for ministries of peacemaking within the local church and its community.  The remainder is used by presbyteries, synods and Presbyterian Peacemaking Program of the PC(USA) General Assembly.

 

August 2009 - Begin Planning for Fall Financial Campaign.

 

In times like this, many people are asking, "How can I ask members of my congregation to give more this year?

 

But the question they should be asking is, "In times like this, how can we not ask our congregation to give more?"

 

Now is the time to start planning for your Fall Financial Campaign.  If you have not done so yet, identify the leaders of the campaign and start meeting to review your church's resources and ministry goals for next year.  To start, click on the "Getting Started" box on the left.  Share the "Stages of Giving" with your committee.  How does this relate to your congregation?  Select a Campaign Method and a Stewardship Theme and order the materials needed.  Finally, look in Stewardship Resources for additional material to help you with your Fall Stewardship Campaign.

 

July 2009 - Celebrate Small Churches

 

Celebrate the role of small churches in the Presbyterian Church (USA) on Small Church Sunday, July 18, 2009.  Download resources for a Celebration of Small Church Ministry and read about a small Presbyterian Church in Allerton, IA.

 

For more info see some suggested activities for Small Churches.

 

June 2009 - Green Church

 

Presbyterians Today featured the green church as the April cover story.  How "green" is your church?  Click Here to read the story.

 

Every church cannot install solar panels or use only natural light in their sanctuary, but there are many things that can be done to conserve resources, reduce our impact on the environment and preserve scarce budget dollars.  Does your church have a "green" success story?  Share it on this web site by emailing the details to Neal Leeper (nleeper@cfu.net).

 

For more ideas on how to be a green church, click here.

 

Other web sites to visit are:

PC(USA) Environmental Ministries or Presbyterians for Restoring Creation.

 

May 2009 - Pentecost Offering

The Pentecost Offering is traditionally received on the day of Pentecost (May 31, 2009). It provides a direct way to meet the needs of children at risk, youth, and young adults. Congregations are encouraged to use 40% of the Offering to support ministry with children at risk in their communities.

Share ways that your congregation uses it's 40% share of the Offering on the Stewardship web site.  Email Neal Leeper (nleeper@cfu.net) with your information.

April 2009 - Wills & Estates

 

May 3 is Wills Emphasis Sunday and Older Adult Week begins.  Many members have given faithfully to the church but have not thought about giving beyond their lifetimes.  Without a Will, your church will not be included in your estate.  Click Here for more information.

 

 

North Central Iowa Presbytery

2302 Falls Avenue, Waterloo, IA 50701

319-233-1747

319-233-2015 (fax)

www.presbynciowa.org