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'Stewardship
is a way of life...'
by Carolyn Dicer
Bishop’s Deputy for Program
Celebration
was the tone of the conference which dealt with stewardship in the fullest
sense of the word. Living a life of abundance and understanding how the
stewardship journey and spiritual journey intertwine was the focus. Conference
participants came from all parts of the Diocese and from all sizes and
types of churches. They were enthusiastic, had much to share with each
other and were highly appreciative of the presenters and the knowledge
they gained. Guest presenters were Tom Gossen, Executive Director of Episcopal
Network for Stewardship (TENS), Wichita, Kansas and Charles Gearing Director
of Diocesan Planned Giving Programs, The Episcopal Church Foundation,
Atlanta GA
Bishop vonRosenberg
opened the conference and set the tone for the day with a personal story
about stewardship as giftedness. In reflecting on the conference the Bishop
commented that "It was an excellent day, the speakers and leaders
were of high quality and there was an exciting interchange of ideas from
across the Diocese."
Participants'
comments on their learnings:
- "Our
self perception as being gifted by God is the basis of stewardship."
- "Stewardship
has great potential to be a power filled and grace filled experience."
- "We
are called to live abundantly and give from our abundance."
- "Stewardship
is about a faith journey and a witness experience."
- "Stewardship
is a way of life, not just a fall fund raising campaign."
- "I
loved the emphasis on stewardship in its fullest sense, rather than
just money."
- "We
will have our planned giving program up and running shortly."
- "Year
around stewardship requires prior planning and the involvement of many
volunteers."
- "I
am taking home specific ideas for both stewardship and planned giving."
- "Planned
Giving is a final witness."
- "We
are all about the same thing, we may do our stewardship differently
but we must remember that Jesus is at the center."
- "Tom
Gossen and Charles Gearing threw out so many good ideas that I couldn’t
get them all down."
- "The
sharing groups by size of church about what is working were very helpful."
- "I
liked the hymn singing, breakfast, hospitality, content and diversity."
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