There is no doubt that church committee work is cyclical and this is absolutely true for Stewardship Committees. After Labor Day they start to get organized, are busy in October and November, are done by Thanksgiving or so and are back to sleep before the Christmas decorations are put away. Afterall, there is really nothing to be done stewardship-wise the rest of the year, right?. Of course there is. To help guide you the rest of the year the Foundation has developed the Five Star Stewardship Award. The program has 17 activities, ranging from having a stewardship campaign to developing a narrative budget to having the children and youth take on a fund raising project for missions. Some activities are required, having a campaign and a budget, for instance while others are optional. Each activity has a point value, and any church earning 150 points earns Five Star recognition. For you over achievers out there (and you know who you are) the church with the most points in each district will be recognized as a Gold Star church. And Five Diamond status will go to the church in the Conference with the most points. The Foundation will make a matching gift to a mission project supported by it. There are almost 800 churches in the Conference, so earning this recognition will require a significant commitment. But the point here really isn’t to earn points. It is designed to lift up 17 possible things your stewardship committee can be doing to strengthen the church. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to know that many of the activities are based in three areas that I think are important: missions, financial transparency, and talking about money. Each church in the Conference will receive a complete packet in the mail this week, but if you just can’t wait, you can download the Program Description, the Tally Sheet and even a Spreadsheet to help you evaluate your past success. As of two weeks ago I am once again chairing my church’s Stewardship Committee and I know that this program will be a centerpiece of our activities for the year. I hope it is for you as well. --Brian D. Sheetz, Executive Director, East Ohio United Methodist Foundation God Is Still In Control! Miss Lladale Carey Web Content Producer UMCGiving.org United Methodist Communications lcarey@umcom.org
Monday, March 21, 2011
Year-round Stewardship Made Easy
There is no doubt that church committee work is cyclical and this is absolutely true for Stewardship Committees. After Labor Day they start to get organized, are busy in October and November, are done by Thanksgiving or so and are back to sleep before the Christmas decorations are put away. Afterall, there is really nothing to be done stewardship-wise the rest of the year, right?. Of course there is. To help guide you the rest of the year the Foundation has developed the Five Star Stewardship Award. The program has 17 activities, ranging from having a stewardship campaign to developing a narrative budget to having the children and youth take on a fund raising project for missions. Some activities are required, having a campaign and a budget, for instance while others are optional. Each activity has a point value, and any church earning 150 points earns Five Star recognition. For you over achievers out there (and you know who you are) the church with the most points in each district will be recognized as a Gold Star church. And Five Diamond status will go to the church in the Conference with the most points. The Foundation will make a matching gift to a mission project supported by it. There are almost 800 churches in the Conference, so earning this recognition will require a significant commitment. But the point here really isn’t to earn points. It is designed to lift up 17 possible things your stewardship committee can be doing to strengthen the church. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to know that many of the activities are based in three areas that I think are important: missions, financial transparency, and talking about money. Each church in the Conference will receive a complete packet in the mail this week, but if you just can’t wait, you can download the Program Description, the Tally Sheet and even a Spreadsheet to help you evaluate your past success. As of two weeks ago I am once again chairing my church’s Stewardship Committee and I know that this program will be a centerpiece of our activities for the year. I hope it is for you as well. --Brian D. Sheetz, Executive Director, East Ohio United Methodist Foundation God Is Still In Control! Miss Lladale Carey Web Content Producer UMCGiving.org United Methodist Communications lcarey@umcom.org
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lifeguard
Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation” Habakkuk 3: 17-18, NRSV
This scripture reminds me about something that happened when I was about 8 years old. I took swimming lessons at the YMCA in West Philadelphia, near 52nd and Market Streets. I progressed well enough to move to the deep end of the pool. I was afraid, but I went out on the diving board, closed my eyes, and jumped in anyway. I touched bottom, but couldn’t get to the surface quickly enough. I felt like I was drowning. The lifeguard was watching and put a pole in the water and pulled me out in what seemed to be just in the nick of time.
Sometimes We Need Saving
Some days we may feel overcome by the things life brings our way. Situations or conditions occur that we did not anticipate and cannot resolve by our own efforts alone. We need a lifeguard...one who is watching over us and knows just what we need. Habakkuk prays the prayer of a man overcome by realities his people were facing. So much pain, so much destruction, so little hope. Yet, as he listened to God’s response to his cries, he was reminded that God was watching over them and would not let them be overcome.
Sometimes We are Called to Be the Savior
There are situations and circumstances occurring all over our world that make us want to cry out some days, “How long, O Lord? How long?” News reports of young wives in one Middle Eastern country for whom suicide is preferable to a life of abuse with their husbands. Young people in the U.S. who are giving up on life as a result of being bullied on the internet or at school. And millions still suffering from poverty and its diseases, stresses and pain. Yet, we have a Savior, one who guards our lives and watches over us and all creation. It is our task to grab the pole. The pole of prayer, or the pole of scripture, or the pole of fasting, or the pole of service, or the pole of worship. In this way, we can continue learning how to swim in the shallow and the deep waters of life. We can be witnesses to those struggling or in despair, and help them understand that no matter how difficult things can be, God is with them. We can speak to the powers that be for justice and rightness with God. And we can offer the love that Christ has so freely given to us.
We never know when God will be our lifeguard or use us as a lifeguard for others.
--adapted from a SoulFood article by Bishop Linda Lee, WI Ann Conf
God Is Still In Control!
Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
UMCGiving.org
United Methodist Communications
lcarey@umcom.org
Monday, March 7, 2011
Making RoomWelcoming new people into our churches and making room for them might mean metaphorically and/or literally that we will have to rearrange the furniture, use some of our fancy plates and silverware, put out more food and coffee, and learn some new recipes and ways of eating, but in the end we will rejoice because we will be blessed with the love of God and the presence of HIS SON our Savior Jesus Christ.
When I lived in Mexico, one of my favorite Christmas traditions to participate in were Las Posadas (translated literally: the lodgings). Las Posadas consists of nine processions that take place every night before Christmas from December 16th to the 24th. These processions represent Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their search to find a place to stay. Each night the journey is reenacted. People representing Mary and Joseph and rest of the procession of people go door to door asking for a place to stay until one family finally lets them. When the family lets Mary and Joseph and the procession of people into their house, they all celebrate, worship, eat, and fellowship together. The next night, a different family has the honor of hosting the celebration at their house.
When the procession goes from door to door they sing a song. The song goes along with the reenactment. When the procession arrives at the first house, they sing the first verse and the people inside the house respond to them that there is no room and so the procession goes to the next house and the next house until they arrive at the last house where they are finally let in to the house.
Outside the first house the people sing:
“In the blessed name of heav’n, I beg you, sir, let us in for the night, for my beloved Mary is with child, and is unable to go any further tonight.”
Inside the first house the people sing:
“I don’t have a room for you; please do not stop here, just move on your way. The doors are closed, I’m settled for the night. I will not open for fear that you might be some knave.”
Outside the last house the people sing:
“Please have pity my good friend, she is so weary, so worn and so cold. Her time is near, and soon she will give birth to a dear Child who will be the true Light of the world.”
Inside the last house the people sing:
“You are Joseph of Nazareth? With your beloved about to give birth? Enter, my friends, I failed to recognize One who will bring love and peace and good will to the earth.”
Then the people in the inside of the house welcome in Joseph and Mary and the possession of people by singing:
“Welcome, pilgrims to this shelter, let it peace to you impart. Though a poor and lowly dwelling, it is offered from the heart!”
And together everyone sings in great joy:
“Let us sing with rejoicing, Let our songs our joy convey, for the blessed Holy Family chose to honor us this day!”
This tradition helps us to reflect on how we respond to knocks at our door. How do we respond? How do our churches respond? Do we say that there is no room or do we make room?
As the Hispanic-Latino Missionary working in the Detroit Conference, I have seen the joy, the celebration, and the transformation that can happen when churches make room for pilgrims, for immigrants who are looking for a place of shelter and hospitality, for people who are looking for a loving Christian family because they are far away from their families.
Welcoming new people into our churches and making room for them might mean metaphorically and/or literally that we will have to rearrange the furniture, use some of our fancy plates and silverware, put out more food and coffee, and learn some new recipes and ways of eating, but in the end we will rejoice because we will be blessed with the love of God and the presence of HIS SON our Savior Jesus Christ.
I have created a guide for developing Hispanic/Latino Ministries called Making Room at the Table, which can be found by clicking here. . If you would like me to come and speak to your church about Hispanic/Latino Ministries please contact me at sluna@detroitconference.org .
For more information about Hispanic/Latino Religious Traditions such as Las Posadas and for the lyrics of the Las Posadas Song see the book- Fiesta Cristiana: Recursos para la Adoración Resources for Worship by Joel N. Martínez and Raquel M. Martínez (2003, Abingdon Press).
--Sonya Luna is a missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving through the National Plan for Hispanic and Latino Ministries (NPHLM) in the Detroit Annual Conference.
God Is Still In Control!
When the procession goes from door to door they sing a song. The song goes along with the reenactment. When the procession arrives at the first house, they sing the first verse and the people inside the house respond to them that there is no room and so the procession goes to the next house and the next house until they arrive at the last house where they are finally let in to the house.
Outside the first house the people sing:
“In the blessed name of heav’n, I beg you, sir, let us in for the night, for my beloved Mary is with child, and is unable to go any further tonight.”
Inside the first house the people sing:
“I don’t have a room for you; please do not stop here, just move on your way. The doors are closed, I’m settled for the night. I will not open for fear that you might be some knave.”
Outside the last house the people sing:
“Please have pity my good friend, she is so weary, so worn and so cold. Her time is near, and soon she will give birth to a dear Child who will be the true Light of the world.”
Inside the last house the people sing:
“You are Joseph of Nazareth? With your beloved about to give birth? Enter, my friends, I failed to recognize One who will bring love and peace and good will to the earth.”
Then the people in the inside of the house welcome in Joseph and Mary and the possession of people by singing:
“Welcome, pilgrims to this shelter, let it peace to you impart. Though a poor and lowly dwelling, it is offered from the heart!”
And together everyone sings in great joy:
“Let us sing with rejoicing, Let our songs our joy convey, for the blessed Holy Family chose to honor us this day!”
This tradition helps us to reflect on how we respond to knocks at our door. How do we respond? How do our churches respond? Do we say that there is no room or do we make room?
As the Hispanic-Latino Missionary working in the Detroit Conference, I have seen the joy, the celebration, and the transformation that can happen when churches make room for pilgrims, for immigrants who are looking for a place of shelter and hospitality, for people who are looking for a loving Christian family because they are far away from their families.
Welcoming new people into our churches and making room for them might mean metaphorically and/or literally that we will have to rearrange the furniture, use some of our fancy plates and silverware, put out more food and coffee, and learn some new recipes and ways of eating, but in the end we will rejoice because we will be blessed with the love of God and the presence of HIS SON our Savior Jesus Christ.
I have created a guide for developing Hispanic/Latino Ministries called Making Room at the Table, which can be found by clicking here. . If you would like me to come and speak to your church about Hispanic/Latino Ministries please contact me at sluna@detroitconference.org .
For more information about Hispanic/Latino Religious Traditions such as Las Posadas and for the lyrics of the Las Posadas Song see the book- Fiesta Cristiana: Recursos para la Adoración Resources for Worship by Joel N. Martínez and Raquel M. Martínez (2003, Abingdon Press).
--Sonya Luna is a missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving through the National Plan for Hispanic and Latino Ministries (NPHLM) in the Detroit Annual Conference.
God Is Still In Control!
Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
UMCGiving.org
United Methodist Communications
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