The Commission on Stewardship
Planting the Seeds is a stewardship formation based on these several principls:
The spiritual formation of our people. Stewardship is a way to increase faith. Stewardship is the critical union of our faith and our works - the heart of our belief as Christian The need to teach stewardship regularly to all our people, especially our children and youth in our faith formation programs. Stewardship is a way of life, not a program or a course. Giving of our time, talent and treasure is evidence of our discipleship.
Our Mission
The mission of the Commission on Stewardship is to encourage and support faithful stewardship in all the parishes of the Diocese of Atlanta
About Us
One of the most difficult tasks in our church community is asking for money from our members to continue the work of our parish communities. Many consider money and the work of the church to be opposite from each other. But in reality both these concepts need to work together to use our gifts (time, talent and treasury) to bring the members of our community together in spreading the Gospel throughout our Diocese.
This website is intended to be a resource for all the Churches in the Diocese of Atlanta. Our Commission has gathered ideas and suggestions from various Episcopal Church sources throughout the country.
Congregations seek ways to provide stewardship education that is meaningful and biblically based, but if it is ineffective to simply give people more information about stewardship and expect them to change their giving patterns.
The Commission on Stewardship of the Diocese of Atlanta offers an experience of grace that allows individuals to re-orient their thinking about money and provides an effective process that will produce healthier churches, stronger leaders and a clearer mission. This proven process encourages an inner experience that invites reconciliation between what we believe and what we do.
The Commission on Stewardship is committed to assist each parish in the Diocese of Atlanta to fully develop its commitment to good stewardship by providing guidance, resources and the ingoing help of trained consultants. Some key elements available to congregations are described below.
Diocesan Resources for Parishes on Stewardship
Local Stewardship Resources - Training Workshops and a variety of other local Stewardship resources
Stewardship Resources from the Episcopal Church
The Annual Campaign
The Annual Campaign for commitments in support of the operating budget usually is the focus of a great deal of time and energy of parishioner, and the results can have a major impact on the life of the parish. A consultant for the Commission on Stewardship working with parish leadership throughout the year, can provide guidance in making the campaign as effective as possible.
Stewardship Workshops
Throughout the year, the Commission on Stewardship offers Stewardship Workshops for parish clergy and lay stewardship leaders Offered by members of the Diocesan Commission on Stewardship, the workshop is designed to help those leaders responsible for planning and leading the annual stewardship campaign in their parishes. Parishes are encouraged to send teams when possible. Training will be scripture-based, it will help leaders evaluate the effectiveness of their present stewardship efforts, and will discuss available programs and methods for organizing and targeting stewardship efforts not only for the fall campaign, but throughout the church year. There is no charge for the workshops.
Listing and downloads of materials and presentations from our workshops
Vestry Awareness
Vestry awareness is a term describing a session offered by a member of the Commission on Stewardship of a vestry. It constitutes a introduction to sound stewardship. It focuses on the importance of leadership and is designed to include the participation of every member of the vestry. The sessions helps assess the vestry's position and potential, as far as stewardship is concerned. It reguires about 1 ½ to 2 hours and should be scheduled at a time other than a regular vestry meeting.
Gift Planning
A Gift Planning Program in a parish provides education and assistance to parishioners in their planning for the disposition of the accumulated assets. It focuses on the importance of various gift planning vehicles in making one's estate plans, and it encourages charitable giving as an expression of stewardship or accumulated assets. The professional assistance provided by the Commission on Stewardship is available to parishes in establishing a program in the parish, or for providing assistance for an individual donor.
Planned Giving, Endowment Funds, and Capital Campaign Consulting and information
A Capital Campaign
A capital campaign is an organized effort to enlist commitments in support of capital needs, such as a building or renovation project, a new organ, etc. Usually it is conducted as a separate activity from the annual campaign, and it requires extensive planning and preparation. While a professional fundraising consultant is normally engaged, the Commission on Stewardship can provide preliminary assistance in the early stages of planning the campaign
Stewardship and our Environment
The Bible begins with the phrase "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth". It can't be said any simpler than that. God is the one that put this earth together. Now there are many views about how He created the earth, and how long it took Him, but nevertheless, the Bible is very clear that God is the Creator. Now, when we use the word "creation", we are talking about all that God made: human beings, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, and oceans. In modern terms, we would call this the "ecosystem" or the "environment". For this reason, we have added links to our website with organizations are working on helping us take care of God's creation.
