When people know that their generosity has made a difference they not only feel good, but are inclined to continue to support those ministries.The bottom line is to tell your story Tell it creatively Succinctly (bulletin insert, short newsletter blurb, short video online or during worship) Tell it often and in a variety of ways...
Category: Congregations
January 6, 2017
Storytelling: Stewardship’s Bottom Line
When people know that their generosity has made a difference they not only feel good, but are inclined to continue to support those ministries.The bottom line is to tell your story Tell it creatively Succinctly (bulletin insert, short newsletter blurb, short video online or during worship) Tell it often and in a variety of ways...
December 6, 2016
Report Describes “Halo Effect” of Sacred Places
America’s older churches and synagogues bring major economic value to their communities, making an significant contribution to local employment, education, children and families, the performing arts, and overall neighborhood health. A new scholarly study of the “halo effect” of older sacred places – conducted by Partners for Sacred Places in partnership with the University of...
November 30, 2016
Stewardship Tip: Embrace Generosity this Advent/Christmas
How do we provide practical programs that help our members embrace generosity and alert them to the dangers of our culture’s “spend, spend, spend” mentality? The Advent/Christmas season is one of the times of the year that lends itself to lifting up the economic tensions of these dual messages. Many congregations encourage generosity with multiple...
November 30, 2016
Updated: Child Protection Webinars
Updated Nov. 30 to add NEW opportunities on Dec. 2 and Dec. 8. What constitutes a legally reportable incident might surprise most people, so having your staff participate if they haven’t been keeping up with the news would probably be a good idea. Earlier this year, the leader of a Pennsylvania-based YMCA was criminally charged for...
November 22, 2016
New FLSA Requirements for Churches
Please share this information with the appropriate leaders and staff in your congregation. There is a new requirement for overtime that goes into effect on December 1, 2016. It is important for all churches to be aware of the new law. This law will affect nursery schools and day care centers that are owned by...
October 13, 2016
Stewardship Tip: 10-10-80 Principle
The 10-10-80 Principle of money management has been lifted up in different contexts over the years. The principle itself is pretty basic. It encourages each disciple to prayerfully embrace an approach to their incomes around these three percentages: 10% is offered to the work of God’s kingdom in the world through the church and other...
October 12, 2016
Time To Update Your Constitution
Your congregation’s Constitution is a vital statement about who you are as a community of faith, and your interdependence within the ELCA. The 2016 Churchwide Assembly made important changes to required provisions to the Model Constitution that should be included in your church’s documents, according to the Rev. Karl M. Richard, Synod secretary. (Read his...
October 6, 2016
A Big Look at the Small Catechism
Several years ago my husband’s bishop tried initiating a diocese-wide call to the catechumenate to engage those preparing for confirmation in a period of study and formation. We call it confirmation class or catechism, something generations of Lutherans have gone through. But this was a new experience for the Episcopalians in his diocese. He set...
September 29, 2016
A Tribute to Historic St. Michael’s
Parishoners, pastors and friends, past and present, of St. Michael’s in Germantown gathered Sept. 11 to say farewell and celebrate 288 years of faithful ministry. The congregation is likely older, with Lutheran services held on Germantown Avenue in the 1690s. Many soldiers of the Revolution are buried in its graveyard. St. Michael’s also birthed or...
September 28, 2016
Money, Mission, and Media: ‘Generosity Is a Learned Virtue’
“We are in a (new) Pentecost moment,” the Rev. Ruth Santana Grace, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, told more than 200 church leaders gathered at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia for Money, Mission, and Media, a conversation about the challenges and opportunities for 21st Century digital ministry. In changing times, the church...
September 28, 2016
Gratitude from Bishop Munga, NED
“We can witness that the prayers of our sisters and brothers in Christ are sustaining us,” wrote Bishop Stephen Munga of our companion North Eastern Diocese in Tanzania in response to a letter from Bishop Burkat carrying the thoughts, prayers and generosity of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod members after Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU) was attacked...
September 23, 2016
SEPA Standing with SEKOMU After Attack
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod is standing in prayer and financial support with Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University in Tanzania after armed gunmen attacked the university on September 1. Pastor Brad Burke and other members of our synod were in the North Eastern Diocese at the time and shared pastoral care and the prayers of our synod. The...
September 6, 2016
October is Lutheran Charities Month
Through Lutheran Charities, YOU support dozens of Lutheran ministries and programs across Southeastern Pennsylvania that touch the lives of more than 100,000 of the most vulnerable people among us every single year. That’s roughly 1 out of every 49 people. And WE NEED YOU to make it happen. October is Lutheran Charities Month! You can support Lutheran Charities by going...
August 9, 2016
2017 Health Cost Rise Lowest in 4 Years
Portico is taking its next wellness reformation step — introducing Care Coordinators to help ELCA-Primary health plan members navigate the complicated health care landscape and purchase care with an eye to both quality and cost. This innovation is helping Portico keep the 2017 ELCA-Primary baseline health contribution increase the lowest in four years. Over the...
August 2, 2016
Proclaiming God’s Love in Tanzania
Did you know that Tanzania, home to our companion North Eastern Diocese, has many more Lutherans than the ELCA has members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has 6.5 million members compared to the ELCA’s 3.7 million. As the ELCA looks to its future, what can it learn from the global Lutheran church? Read more...
July 28, 2016
Living Gospel Finds New Home
Living Gospel’s LIFE ministry with men and women with criminal convictions in their past will expand when it moves to new quarters at Trinity Lutheran in Germantown this fall. The move to the historic Sauer House – where Christopher Sauer printed the first Lutheran bible’s in the US – is made possible by a $10,000...
July 13, 2016
An Outpouring of Generosity
The 49-year tradition of generosity through our Christmas Ingathering is transforming into the SEPA Outpouring. Due to changes at Lutheran Children and Family Service and decreased funding for transport and publicity, we will no longer collect donations en masse on the first Sunday of December. Instead, we will be offering opportunities to give throughout the...
July 6, 2016
God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday
“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. The suggested date for the 2016 dedicated day of service is Sunday, Sept. 11. Mark your calendars today! If your congregation cannot participate on...
July 6, 2016
Servants: “We Are All Related”
“Mitakuye Oyas’in” — We Are All Related. Our SEPA Servants at the Rosebud Lakota Reservation are now at work. After an orientation to Native American culture and language, the crews spent Tuesday (July 5) doing demolition, landscape clean-up, and sorting thrift store donations at the Tree of Life warehouse. The day camp had 15...
July 6, 2016
Convert Church Facebook Profiles to Pages
Updated July 9 with link to convert profile to page. If your congregation has a Facebook presence set up as a profile (person with “friends”) rather than a page (with “likes”) or a group (with “members”), take note: We have recently heard from a couple of congregations whose accounts have been locked and asked to provide a...
