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

Your March Mission & Service Stories   MARCH 5 Empowering Women to Be Agents of Change   [Photo credit: ASWA]   Many women in the Indian state of Rajasthan live lives marked by stigma, fear, and violence―simply for not being married. Our Mission & Service partner, the Association of Strong Women Alone, is changing that.    MARCH 12 Religion in the Service of Humanity   [Photo credit: WSCF-ME] In the Middle East, your Mission & Service gifts are helping to develop leaders skilled in preventing violence and fostering peace between communities.  MARCH 19 Educating the Ministers of Tomorrow: Jennifer Janzen-Ball’s Work   [Video still credit: Mission & Service] By giving to Mission & Service, you’re making changes that may be as close as your local pulpit. Through academic bursaries for students studying to become ministers and theological leaders, your gifts support local ministry.     MARCH 26 Your Belief and Support Make All the Difference       [Image credit:Arwa Nofal]   We all need someone who believes in us: someone who supports our dreams. Here’s one story of how your belief and support through Mission & Service make all the difference.  Goal-Setting Made Easy When communities of faith set goals for giving, our partners know they can count on our support. To make setting your goals a little easier, we have made the Mission & Service goal-setting form for 2023 available online. It’s wonderful to know that we can count on your gifts. Thank you!   Congregational Stewardship/Generosity This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples and gather the resources you need to respond to God’s calling. Please modify and use these ideas in your context.   Here’s an Idea That Works! At your congregation's Annual Meeting, be sure to thank your leaders for their time, energy and all they do. Tell people how their leadership helped your community of faith live out its calling and purpose. Everything you do links to your calling and purpose. Consider giving each leader a small gift.  Invite one or two to share how serving in leadership was good for them and helped build up their faith. It’s great feedback and encouragement for someone else who is considering taking on a leadership role. Called to Be the Church: The Journey Called to Be the Church: The Journey modules really make a difference. In each cohort, community of faith leaders rediscover how inspiring their church really is and get excited about telling their stories as they invite people to share their resources to grow in faith and make a difference in people’s lives. Come and join the movement!  For all the details, contact your local Community of Faith Stewardship Support staff. Getting Started in Stewardship module Here’s where your journey begins! Start with an on-line 2-hour course, followed by three practical assignments that will help you reflect on giving and generosity as part of your faith, gather and interpret some of the giving data from your community of faith, and build a stewardship team in order to start making stewardship a priority in your community of faith.  Getting Started in Stewardship begins the week of May 1. Registration details coming soon. Stewardship Best Practices module UPDATE!!!  New cohorts for the Stewardship Best Practices module start the week of March 20, 2023. Course content and practical session run until early June. Coaching and support sessions continue for 6 months. This is a deep dive into solid stewardship practices. You MUST participate as part of a team from your community of faith, so start gathering your learning team now and don’t miss out! For all the details, contact your local Community of Faith Stewardship Support staff. Set Up Your Giving Program module New cohorts for the Congregational Giving Program module start in May 2023. If you are planning a Congregational Giving Program in the fall (2023) or early winter (2024), this is for you! Find out more details about this module, and stay tuned for registration that will open in the early spring.   Bequests & Estate Giving module One-third of United Church people would consider including the church in their estate plans if they were asked. Here’s your chance to get your Planned Giving program set up and running, so that your community of faith can benefit from these financial gifts. This module consists of two 1-hour on-line sessions starting the week of May 15, 2023 and concluding the week of May 29, 2023. Registration details coming soon. Check Out the Most Recent Stewardship Blog at Round the Table: Racing toward that Goal by the Rev. Brenna Baker A Healthy Lent by the Rev. Melody Duncanson-Hales Getting Ready for Lent and Easter Worship?   Full seasonal worship liturgies, prayers, sermons and kid/youth ideas are yours to customize. Revised for 2023! Use the Lectionary Worship Starters 2023 sheet for stewardship related sermon starter ideas and suggested hymns. Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage. Stewardship Seconds (revised for 2023)   Full seasonal worship liturgies, prayers, sermons and kid/youth ideas are yours to customize. Revised for 2023! Use the Lectionary Worship Starters 2023 sheet for stewardship related sermon starter ideas and suggested hymns. Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage. Offering Introductions and Dedication Prayers (revised for 2023)   The offering time in worship is not about collecting money! It is about growing generous disciples and stewards. These Offering Introductions and Dedication Prayers, for each Sunday of the year, will help. Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage. Get the Stewardship Support You Need The people and resources to help you succeed are here. Call us. Email us. Book a meeting with us. Whatever works for you!  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! 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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