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

Congregational Stewardship/Generosity    This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples as part of doing God’s mission. Please modify and use these ideas in your context. May Is PAR Month! Don’t be PAR-alyzed. It’s easy to invite people to PAR-take in PAR month.    We have all the PAR-aphernalia and resources you need. There’s even a sample plan so you don’t have to do all the work to PAR-ticipate. Download them from the Giving Monthly Through PAR webpage.    All kidding aside, inviting people to monthly giving through PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) is an easy way for you to help increase generosity in your community of faith. And increasing generosity not only increases ministry, it’s also a great way to nurture discipleship as people learn to walk the Way of Jesus.    Please make a big deal about it. Have fun with it. PAR-ty on!  Rev. Dave Jagger Community of Faith Stewardship Lead Resources We’ve updated our PAR Offering cards, so people who use PAR to make their Sunday offering can be included when the offering plates go by.  Cost:  Free (Package of 50 cards) Order through UCRD.  These Online Offering cards give those who make their Sunday offering online something to place in the offering plate. They are a way for people to be involved in the act of giving as an act of worship.  Cost:  Free (Package of 50 cards) Order through UCRD.  Called to be the Church: The Journey     100% of participants in Getting Started in Stewardship this winter who completed the evaluation form would recommend this course to others and saw an increase in their level of HOPE for the future of their Community of Faith.    Many participating communities of faith in Stewardship Best Practices and Setting Up Your Giving Program courses saw an increase in at least TWO key financial indicators.    What more needs to be said? Called to Be the Church: The Journey modules really make a difference. Come and join the movement!     Find more information and register for all these courses at CHURCHx.    Getting Started in Stewardship   Join United Church people across the country to learn some stewardship first principles.     JUNE DATE NOW OPEN!!    Stewardship Best Practices  Best done AFTER Getting Started in Stewardship.    Eight weeks of Learning Sessions and Cohort Discussion Groups interspersed with practical exercises to examine Stewardship Best Practices in order for you to set goals, create an annual stewardship plan, and get energized!  Followed by 10 months of coaching and support so you will be successful.    Course fee: Pay what you can. Recommended fee $100/team.     Setting Up Your Congregational Giving Program    Learn how best to utilize the Called to Be the Church Giving Program materials and develop a plan that will work for your church with two 2-hour online sessions and coaching.     Course fee: Pay what you can. Recommended fee $100/team.     Bequests and Planned Giving for Your Community of Faith Explore how to set up and maintain a Planned Giving Program at your church, with two one-hour online sessions. Course fee: $29.99/person.  Find more information and register for all these courses at CHURCHx.     For more information on these and other stewardship supports, contact called@united-church.ca. Check Out the Most Recent Stewardship Blog The new May blog is now available at Round the Table. This month, Rev. Dave Jagger acknowledges his age, and that generosity can change over time.  [Image credit: courtesy of Dave Jagger] Here’s an Idea! As we get closer to the beginning of the 100th Anniversary celebrations of Church Union on June 10, give people a chance to tell their story of their passion for the church. Share short testimonial-style stories about why people love their church; how their church has supported their faith; how their church is making a difference in your community and the world. Inspirational!  Stewardship Seconds (revised for 2024) Short, pithy sayings that pack a punch, to help infiltrate stewardship thinking into your community of faith. Add them to newsletters, worship, announcements, webpages, wherever people gather!  Find them at the Stewardship in Worship webpage.  Offering Introductions and Dedication Prayers (revised for 2024)  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.  It's PAR Month May is PAR month, and we hope you have been spreading the word about PAR (Pre-Authorized Giving). If you haven’t, there’s still time! You can download resources by visiting our PAR page or going to united-church.ca and searching for PAR.   Help everyone be regular with their giving: Join PAR.   Blessings, Glenn Waterman Annual Giving Lead Your June Mission and Service Stories JUNE 2 Learning about God’s Love   [Photo credit: Honey Haze Photography]   It’s often hard for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals to reconcile their faith with their identity. They feel isolated and alienated from the church. Mission and Service partner Silver Spire United Church in St. Catharines, Ontario fosters a sense of belonging in 2SLGBTQIA+ young people through Queer Kid Bible Camp. JUNE 9 Advocating for Sexual and Gender Minorities in Other Countries   [ Video still redit: The United Church of Canada]   Same-sex attraction is a crime in 71 countries, and 11 of them have the death penalty. The stories people share after they escape these repressive governments clearly show the risks 2SLGBTQIA+ people take. Mission and Service brings together church leaders in foreign countries to discover how we can help make the church a place of liberation and life for sexual and gender minorities in those places.      JUNE 16 Rainbow Camp Is Welcoming   [Photo credit:Dynamic Graphics Group/Canva]   Rainbow Camp® in northern Ontario has welcomed young people of all sexual identities since 2012, providing campers with a safe space to be who they are without judgment. From the beginning, Mission and Service has supported Welcome Friend Association, which runs the camp.   JUNE 23 An Act of Generosity     [Photo credit: Hakase]   Behind every act of generosity there’s a story. Those who work in the United Church’s Philanthropy Unit have the privilege of hearing these stories from generous supporters. Sometimes the story involves honouring someone significant through a gift; other times it’s responding to a deep internal impulse to create positive change in the world.   JUNE 30 Life-Changing Arts Programs for Children     [Photo credit: Felix Posada, CEPALC]   Children are the most vulnerable group in Colombia. Eighty-four percent of violent acts in Colombia are committed against children. Two and a half million children living there work to sustain their families. But for hundreds of children living in Córdoba, Colombia, arts programs provided by the Latin American Center for Popular Communication (CEPALC) teach children about their rights, give them an opportunity to express themselves, and promote peace-making as well as gender justice. Introducing “Ask Glenn and Dave” It seems like most people these days are leading busy lives. You think of something you need to know as a minister, or to help you share Mission and Service with your community of faith, or maybe just “what’s that Called to Be the Church stuff about, anyway?” But you’re busy, and you don’t have pen and paper, and by the time you can do something about it, you’ve forgotten. Maybe you’ll see it in the next God’s Mission, Our Gifts…but that’s weeks away! Now you can get your questions answered faster! “Ask Glenn and Dave” is available every day of the year. Just send in your questions on our handy form, and you’ll get an answer by email or in the next issue of God’s Mission, Our Gifts. Glenn Waterman will be answering your questions about Mission and Service, and Rev. Dave Jagger will handle everything related to congregational stewardship. If your question stumps them, they may even collaborate! If you haven’t, take a few minutes and do it today! Questions? Email Mission and Service or call us at 1-800-465-3771. And keep an eye out for the 2023 Mission and Service thank-you certificates and Accountability Reports, coming soon to a mailbox near you! Gifts with Vision: Fueling Empowerment with Biogas Gifts with Vision is making a difference for women and their communities in Democratic Republic of Congo.   Did you know that food scraps and animal waste can produce electricity? Women in the city of Bukavu in Democratic Republic of Congo are learning how to create a renewable fuel called biogas that can be made from almost any organic matter.   Our Mission and Service partner, the Église du Christ au Congo (ECC), is training 50 women in the whole process, from collecting the fuel through the final step of using the biogas to power an electric generator for their community.   After they set up their own biogas production unit, they will teach other women how to do it. Women become independent through technology, and then help others to do the same: a win-win! Did you know that Mission and Service staff are based in Toronto, so our office hours are on Eastern Time? Our office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and closed on weekends and holidays. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-465-3771, but while we appreciate your calls at any time, we won’t be available to chat outside of those hours. Please leave a message and we will respond as soon as possible. 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! 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.

Copyright © 2024 The United Church of Canada, All rights reserved.