God's Mission Our Gifts: Your March Mission & Service Stories and more!

Your March Mission & Service Stories MARCH 6 International Women’s Day: Geeta’s Story   [Photo credit: Astha Sansthan's Association of Strong Women Alone] March 8 is International Women’s Day, a day that is all about celebrating women's achievements and calling out inequality. Geeta’s story is one example of why marking the day is so important.   MARCH 13 Get Public. Intentional. Explicit.   [Image credit: Affirm United/S’affirmer Ensemble] Tomorrow (March 14) is PIE Day and in church circles, it doesn’t have anything to do with math…    MARCH 20 Rebuilding After Loss: Lisa’s Story     [Photo credit: Lisa Byer-de Wever]   What do I do with the wedding ring now? Do I still wear it? Do I not wear it? Do you change the sheets when you can still smell your partner on them? These are questions Lisa asked after her husband Steve died. Through your Mission & Service gifts, a widows’ support group helps Lisa and others cope with loss.   MARCH 27 100 Million Signatures for Peace   [Photo credit: The United Church of Canada] 70 years is enough. End the Korean war. That’s the message of the recently launched global campaign called the Korea Peace Appeal. Your support through Mission & Service actively supports peace-making in Korea. Signing this petition is another way to help. Special Appeal to Support a Family on February 21    [Photo credit: Pixabay, pedro_wroclaw]   Did you know that since COVID-19 struck, visits to Canadian food banks have climbed 20 percent? Already, over 33 percent of foodbank users are children. In 2022, food prices are predicted to rise another 5 to 7 percent.   On February 21, as we celebrate families and heritage, we can show what it means to come together and care about our neighbours through acts of compassion. Please share this invitation to act with compassion in your church networks:   Let’s show our love to families living in Canada today by giving a family in need the gift of a meal. A gift of just $25 will provide a family of four with a warm, nutritious meal. $50 will support a family with two wholesome meals. $175 will ensure a family can eat a good, healthy meal every day of the week. Make a gift today! Congregational Stewardship/Generosity   This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples and gather the resources you need to do God’s mission. Please modify and use these ideas in your context.   Called to Be the Church: The Journey – Stewardship Best Practices spring cohorts Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what Kathy Torhjelm from Brechin United Church in Nanaimo, BC has to say about the Stewardship Best Practices module: “I learned that Stewardship is Discipleship. I gained confidence to go out and invite others to support the essential work we do with the abundance we have been given.” Online learning and coaching for your community of faith to increase the resources you have to do your mission. Want to know more? Check out Stewardship Best Practices, or contact us at called@united-church.ca. New cohorts are running from the week of April 25 through May 19. Watch this newsletter for dates, times and registration link. Community Ministry Cohort! Fundraising and stewardship are vital to United Church Community ministries. To help you increase the resources you have for your ministry we are running a special cohort of the Stewardship Best Practices module for Community Ministries across Canada. Friday afternoons from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST March 4-18. To sign up, or find out more, contact course leader Vicki Nelson. [Photo credit: congerdesign, Pixabay] Lenten Stewardship-related worship resources Bring stewardship into focus during Lent with these resources from Stewardship in Worship: Get five weeks of liturgy, complete sermons, kids/youth ideas in Loving our Neighbours: Five Sundays of Lent. Explore five new Lenten practices to help your congregation grow in faith. These can be used as part of the Called to Be the Church: The Journey – Congregational Giving Program, or as a stand-alone worship series! Already used the five-week Lenten worship series? Refresh it and the other stewardship worship series by using the Lectionary Worship Starters 2022. Try This! Get ready for Lent! Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday) was traditionally a “fat feast” to give thanks for abundance before the Lenten fast began. If you are having pancakes, be sure to offer a prayer of thanks for your abundance. Make Mardi Gras beads and string them with symbols of your abundance. Start a “___ jar” and make a gift to Mission & Service each time you do “____”. It’s annual meeting time: be sure to thank your leaders for their time, energy and all they do. And we have a worship resource for Annual Meeting Sunday to help you do just that. Stewardship Seconds, offering invitations, and offering prayers Stewardship Seconds, offering invitations, and offering prayers for March 2022 are available on the United Church’s stewardship worship theme page. Scroll down to “Related Material” at the bottom of the page. GOD’S MISSION, OUR GIFTS is your newsletter. We want to provide news and information that you can use in your community of faith, whether you’re a minister, a board member, an administrator, a treasurer, or anyone else who wants to make a difference.   What else would you like to see? What can we do to help your community of faith get where it needs to go? Send us your thoughts! Fill out your Mission & Service goal-setting form online! Visit the United Church’s COVID-19 page for tips and resources for members and communities of faith during the pandemic. And for help with government COVID-19 support, visit the United Church’s emergency funding page. Donate Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn   Your generosity enables the United Church to love, serve, and minister in the world. Make an online donation or learn more about your options to support the work of the church.

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