...an Accessible, Open and Affirming parish of the United Church of Christ






'God is still speaking'

Stewardship Ministry Initiative

The Goal:  To enrich our understanding and practice of what it means to live our lives more fully grounded in God and more deeply bonded in God’s community at South Church. 

Strategies: 

1. Shift the emphasis of how we practice stewardship at South Church to affirm the equal importance of the three elements of stewardship – time, talent, and treasure.
2. Incorporate and honor the liturgical seasons of the church year as well as the ebb and flow of congregational energy in various seasons of the program year.
3. Conduct our stewardship of treasure (pledge) campaign to better coordinate with our budget formation process.

Rationale:

1. Each fall we return to church with renewed energy and creativity.  This is a natural time to focus attention on how our individual gifts, skills, interests and passions contribute to and connect us with the life and work of South Church.  We will ask ourselves and each other what we have to offer that will support or build the mission of South Church.  The goal of this campaign is for each of us to be connected with a ministry, activity, or small group that engages our energy, builds our sense of belonging, and enriches our community. The Stewardship of Talents campaign will happen between Convocation and Thanksgiving, part of the liturgical season known as kingdomtide, a time of service and commitment. 

2. After Christmas, when we have celebrated God’s greatest gift to us, we will begin our Stewardship of Treasure campaign. The goal of this campaign is to secure pledges of financial support sufficient to sustain the mission and ministries of South Church. We will be asked to discern how we have been blessed with financial resources and how our faith calls us to share those resources to do God’s work in the world through the community of South Church  The Trustees and Council will begin the budget development process during this time so that when the pledge campaign is complete, the budget for the next fiscal year – based on the pledges received – will be finalized and ready to present to the congregation for a vote. This timing for the budget process will allow for a budget to be in place before the beginning of the next fiscal year (currently the budget is approved a month or more after the beginning of the fiscal year). The Stewardship of Treasure campaign will run from Christmastide and until Lent.

3. Lent is the liturgical season in which we are invited to deeper introspection and self-reflection.  This is a natural time to examine how we value time as a gift, how we choose to use our time, and how we are called to contribute our time to South Church.  Our Stewardship of Time campaign will ask us to discern what is faithful, what is energizing, and what is draining in the ways we spend our time.  And we will be asked to look for opportunities to give our time to the structures that support the ministries of South Church. The goals of this campaign are to ensure that the various ministries have the support they need to be effective; that the work is equitably divided (many hands make light work); and we that are fed, not drained, by our contributions of time.  The Stewardship of Time campaign will begin during Lent and end during Eastertide.

Transitional Steps:

1. Change the fiscal year from January 1 – December 31 to July 1 – June 30.
1. This will require a vote of the congregation to change the bylaws.  A special meeting for this purpose will be held on October 4^th.
2. Extend our current fiscal year for six months.

1. Extend our current budget for six months

                                                               i.      The current monthly budget would be extended for six months.

                                                             ii.      Any rate increases that occur during the six months would automatically increase the budget – and would be paid for by increased pledges or with invested funds.

2. Extend pledge commitments for six months

                                                               i.      Each individual or family will be asked to extend their current pledge prorated for six months – or to increase their monthly pledge for six months to help cover increases in rates incurred during the six month transitional period. 

3. Engage in two Gift of Treasure campaigns.
1. Have a low key campaign in the fall requesting an extension (or increase) in current pledges to support the six month extension of the budget (January-June 2010).
2. Have a full Gift of Treasure campaign in January and February 2010for the fiscal year July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010.