It has long been my contention that one of the easiest “wins” a parish can achieve comes in cleaning up public spaces, such as lobbies, nurseries, and the sanctuary. Clutter and dirt are the secret enemies of the church (link), diminishing the experience of your facility for parishioners and discouraging newcomers from engagement. There are […]
Category: Stewardship
A “spiritual campaign” is about getting people moving in the same direction for a greater purpose. It’s about accomplishing something that we could not do on our own, or without intentional direction. A spiritual campaign is marked by focused attention that leads to growth and momentum. By the end of a spiritual campaign, members of […]
Every year, around Thanksgiving, we celebrate stewardship here at Nativity. Here’s the basic blueprint for what we do and why we do it. What Is It? Stewardship Weekend is an extended reflection and celebration of giving in our parish. Stewardship, when it comes to discipleship, also includes gifts of time and talent, but we talk […]
Many of the bitter fruits of the COVID crisis can be ignored, at least for a time. But unlike lower attendance, decreased engagement, and smaller reach, parishes can’t ignore the issue of money for long. Bills come due, staff salaries must be paid; maintenance cannot be deferred indefinitely. Giving is down in almost all parishes, […]
As a part of our current message series on “Life with Family”, we’ve acknowledged that families come in many different shapes and sizes. They are continuously changing as seasons of life unfold. Even nuclear families change as kids get older, go off to college, and, eventually, leave the nest to start their own families. Increasingly, […]
Let us come before the LORD with thanksgiving. Psalm 95 This week we celebrated Stewardship Sunday, reflecting on the blessing our parish is to our members and in the life of the community. As part of the celebration, we invited members and “regulars” to make a financial commitment to the parish for 2020. And I […]
When Tom and I started writing our recently released book ChurchMoney, we thought it had the potential to really strike a chord in the American Catholic Church. In our travels across the country, we have observed that money is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – causes of stress and worry among […]
This weekend, we are celebrating the release of our newest book Churchmoney: Rebuilding the Way We Fund Our Mission. The book is the story of our successes and failures with raising money at our parish and the practical lessons we learned along the way. The book came to be because we believe money is an […]
Once a year, and only once a year, we take a weekend to reflect on our financial commitment to our local parish church. The following are 5 practices we’ve found helpful in hosting a successful stewardship program, i.e., one that receives a positive response and solid commitments for giving. ONE: Our Stewardship Sunday is a […]
This week we celebrate Halloween (not to mention All Saints Day) as well as the end of Daylight Savings Time. They all always seem to mark the end of the first half of fall. And what a first half it has been. Our annual kick-off weekend was festive and fun, though intentionally muted in view […]
