Did you know that Mission Support — the offerings your congregation shares with the synod and the churchwide organization — helps put faith into action locally, nationally, and globally? Mission Support provides most of the funding to support the work of the Office of the Bishop. Your gifts help us to identify and nurture future...
Category: Stewardship
October 24, 2018
Mission Support: Faith in Action
Did you know that Mission Support — the offerings your congregation shares with the synod and the churchwide organization — helps put faith into action locally, nationally, and globally? Mission Support provides most of the funding to support the work of the Office of the Bishop. Your gifts help us to identify and nurture future...
January 6, 2019
Generosity: Yours for the Asking
Clif Christopher (who will be our Keynote Speaker at the January 10-11, 2020 Stewardship Extravaganza) shares the following story: Recently I talked with a pastor about how to fund a $6,000 need beyond the resources of the church budget. I felt he had an excellent case for the funds. The ministry sounded important. I asked,...
October 22, 2018
How to Teach Congregations about Mission Support
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to Congregation Councils and congregational members who do not understand what the synod and ELCA do with the dollars contributed by our congregations. And often our rostered leaders aren’t sure how to teach the compelling stories that arise from the use of these funds in our...
October 3, 2018
Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
The Synod Generosity Team and the Delaware Conference invite you to a workshop on generosity and planned giving on Saturday, November 10, 8:30 am to noon, at Reformation Lutheran Church, 102 W. Rose Tree Road, Media. You’ll learn about: Five common ways congregations leave money on the table, and how to get money off the...
October 3, 2018
Generosity Tip: Telling the Story
People, especially millennials, support those causes that have compelling stories that show how money is spent and what outcomes been realized. This is true for our congregations as well as the Synod and the ELCA. Telling your story at the congregational level is the easiest (though not all congregation’s do this intentionally). But what about at...
September 11, 2018
Generosity Tip: It’s About Time
As we enter a new program year, families and the church face an important issue – how do we manage (steward) our time? Summer is over, weekend trips to the shore or mountains are memories, school is already in full swing and with school come all of the school and extracurricular activities, and your children...
July 11, 2018
Stewardship Tip: Legacy Gifts
Yvonne Lembo, a member of our Synod Generosity Team, also works with the ELCA as a regional gift planner. Our ELCA gift planners are a resource that we under-utilize but can be an extra asset for congregations that want to develop or expand their Endowment Funds. Here’s an article that Yvonne wrote for this month’s...
June 5, 2018
Generosity: The Narrative Offering
For the past year we have had six congregations in SEPA Synod and eight congregations in NEPA Synod participating in a pilot program to Create Congregational Cultures of Generosity. Teams from each congregation of the Pastor(s) and four to six lay leaders attended a two day intensive training program to help them understand what to...
April 25, 2018
Generosity: Bearing Fruit
With Spring finally entrenched and summer on its way, we can turn to the many biblical images that relate to gardening and farming. You don’t have to be engaged in either one to appreciate the images, though it certainly will give you a deeper understanding of why Jesus and the prophets used these common examples...
March 26, 2018
The Pros Use Coaches. Shouldn’t You?
Did you ever notice how many coaches professional athletes use? These are the best in the world in their sport, and yet all of them use coaches on a regular basis. In fact, in team sports like football or baseball (Go Phillies!!!) there are even specialized coaches for quarterbacks or pitchers; linebackers or a hitting...
March 5, 2018
New Online Giving Option for Congregations
CHICAGO (March 1, 2018) –The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has reached a preferred vendor agreement with Tithe.ly, a company that offers mobile and online tools to enhance financial giving to ELCA congregations and ministries. As a national organization working with many congregations and denominations, Tithe.ly offers a cost-effective way to increase congregational giving. Congregations...
January 31, 2018
Model Self-Giving During Lent
Lent is just around the corner and for many congregations it is an opportunity to encourage members to follow practices of self-denial, self-sacrifice and other practices to more fully follow the example of our Lord Jesus. At the same time, I have seen changes of emphases with regards to “giving something up” in Lent. While...
December 6, 2017
Tip: December is Generosity Month
December is the most generous month of the year. Churches and other Not-for-Profit organizations receive more contributions than in any other month. “Giving Tuesday” has now joined “Black Friday,” “Small Business Saturday,” and “Cyber Monday” in the pantheon of officially designated categories for spending/donating money. We need to applaud this addition and celebrate generosity as...
November 1, 2017
Stewardship Tip: It’s About Giving Thanks
This is the month when we are focused on Thanksgiving, the end of the calendar year and holidays. Yet, one of the areas that we do not use as systematically or effectively as we might, is giving thanks. We miss a HUGE opportunity. A recent stewardship thought from Margaret Marcuso of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center...
October 16, 2017
The Story is Right in Front of You
People will often ask me what the Synod and ELCA do with our mission support dollars. An example just came to my door – and your door – a treasure trove of resources – if you opened it. The cover told about ELCA Good Gifts. What better way to help children and adults see the...
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ELCA News
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity devotions offered by four heads of communion January 17, 2019
- ELCA Presiding Bishop, Christian leaders issue statement on current U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine November 21, 2018
- ELCA Church Council meets, addresses well-governed and sustainable church November 19, 2018
- Philip Hirsch elected executive director of ELCA Domestic Mission November 13, 2018
- ELCA, Episcopal, and Catholic Church leaders issue statement on East Jerusalem hospitals November 1, 2018
