Stewardship

January 12, 2016

Volume 2, Issue 1

In Newfoundland & Labrador

Special Interest
Articles:

Happy New Year from the Stewardship Crowd

Did you hear

that Roger
Janes left the
Conference?
We have the
details..
(Page 3).

Hi Delegates,
We hope and pray that you all had a nice Christmas and that you
are healthy and excited to start a new year of ministry in the
Church. We are excited about M&S and Stewardship as we begin
2016. There are lots of glad tidings and new resources to share.
Please find ways to share this newsletter and the material herein
with members of your Pastoral Charge.

Have you
considered
giving a gift to
the Church in
your will??
(Page 2)

Gloria Myles & Beatrice Wheaton (District Stewardship Chairs)

Did you know

that one of the
best ways to
increase
congregational
income is to
carry out a
Giving
Program?
(Page 3)

Christian stewardship is ......... everything we think, say and do

after we say "We believe"
Stewardship is.............
is

How we spend our time

How we care for our body and make healthy choices

Our priorities around money

Inside this Issue:

PAR Update

Why I Give to M&S 2

Thank YOU

How we manage our relationships

How we care for the environment
How we practice our faith
How we choose to employ our talents and gifts

Looking for an excellent website for Stewardship Resources?

Check out www.stewardshiptoolkit.ca

Stewardship

Page 2 of 6

Pre-Authorized
Authorized Remittance
Is your congregation on
PAR? PAR, or PreAuthorized Remittance
Remittance, is a
program that enables
churches to offer
congregation members the
opportunity to sign up to
have their offering come
directly to the church from
their bank account once a
month. The program is
easy to set up, inexpensive
and best of all has the
potential to increase giving
and regulate income
throughout the year.

Maybe this is the right

time to think about
Legacy Giving.

Did you know that PAR

givers give more? It
makes sense when you
think about it - the offering
from PAR givers never
miss a Sunday!
We live in a time when
many people are away
from home for a number
of Sundays. Some folks
work away. All of us are
busy. Many more of us
are able to travel to visit
children and
grandchildren. Some of us

are getting to the age when it

is not always easy to get to
church on Sunday. Even our
most committed attenders
miss worship services. Preauthorized Remittance offers
all of us an excellent way to
support our Congregations
ministry, even when we cant
be there.
For more information on
PAR, or to arrange a PAR
workshop, please contact
Roger Janes, or a member
of our Stewardship Team.

Have you Remembered the Church in your Will?

I just dont feel ready to talk
about this type of thing, said
Diane to her friend, Marlene.
Now just isnt the right time.
Diane was referring to an
insert in the Sunday bulletin
about creating a legacy gift
to the Church. First of all, I
dont like talking about death.
And second, Don and I
already have wills. They
were created several years
ago when the kids were
young.
But thats exactly why Darryl
But
and I decided to take a look
at ours, responded Marlene.
A lot of things have changed
since our kids were little. For
one thing, none of them are
living at home
homeall three are
out on their own. They dont
need an inheritance in quite
the same way that they
would have when they were
young.
So? said Diane.
Well, Darryl saw a book on
estate planning at the
bookstore and brought it

home. As we worked
through it together, we
realized that our sense of
legacy extends beyond
family and we want to give
something back to the
communityto the
Church, especially.
The Church has helped
us in so many ways over
the years, continued
Marlene. Weve had great
ministers; our children
have developed strong
values for life; and as
weve matured, it has
helped us shape our ideas
about what really matters.
It has provided the whole
family with a great
legacy.
So as good stewards, it
feels good to return the
favour.

So what did you do?

asked Diane.
We met with our financial
advisor, who agreed that
a bequest in our will was
the best way to go at this

point. We decided that we

could treat the Church like one
of our children, and split our
estate in four ways.
We also talked to Roger, our
Stewardship & Gifts Officer in
the region. He helped us
identify how we want to see
our gift used. So it will be split
between Mission & Service
and the congregation. And he
also gave us the correct
wording to put in the will.
Well, maybe it is the right
time to think about legacy
giving after all, said Diane. I
suppose theres no harm in
getting the information. At
least Ill have an idea of what I
want to talk about.
**********************************
Establishing a legacy gift for
the Church doesnt have to be
complicated. For example, the
easiest way is to have a
bequest written into your will.
To explore the variety of
beneficiaries within the church
and for help with wording in
your will, contact Roger Janes,
at rjanes@united-church.ca

Stewardship

Page 3 of 6

Our New Stewardship & Gifts Officer

st,,

On October 1 2015
Roger Janes, our
Conference Program &
Leadership Staff for 18
years, started a new
position - Stewardship &
Gifts Officer, Atlantic
Region.
Usually upon receiving this
kind of news you would
expect us to say that we
will miss him. But the truth
is we wont. He is not
going anywhere! Roger
will continue to provide
staff support to our two
District Stewardship
Divisions. Furthermore,
he will be staying in Grand
Falls-Windsor and for the
time being will be
continuing to work out of
the Conference Office

there.
Rogers position with the
Conference involved about
30% Stewardship, so
some of his new position
will be the same. What is
different is that Roger is
now working in both NL
Conference and the
Maritime Conference, and
is now taking on the role of
Financial Development
Officer as well. Clyde
Flight and Pam Harrison
held these positions
previously in
Newfoundland and
Labrador and the
Maritimes, respectively.
Roger looks forward to this
new ministry and the
challenges it will offer. He
is also excited that he will

continue to provide
Stewardship support and
resources to the
congregations in this
conference.
Roger is now available to
clergy and lay leaders to
provide information,
workshops and
consultations on such
topics as: Stewardship
Best Practices how to
increase congregational
giving; Legacy Gifts;
Congregational Giving
Programs, Mission &
Service, PAR, Narrative
Budgeting, and much
more. Please utilize Roger
in this new role. His new
e-mail is:
rjanes@united-church.ca
Telephone: 709-489-5101

Roger is available to
Congregations to do
Consultations and workshops on
Best Stewardship Practices.

Congregational Giving Programs: A Stewardship Best Practice

Dr. Barbara Fullerton, in
her doctoral thesis,
discovered that one of the
best practices a
congregation can use to
increase financial support
of their ministry is to have
an annual giving program

Did you get a chance to

use the Called to Be the
Church Stewardship
Program this past Fall?
It is a five week complete
Annual Giving Program
that was mailed out to
every congregation in two
parts- this past Spring

and early Fall. It

contained everything you
need to carry out an
effective Stewardship
Campaign: 5 Complete
Worship Services,
including Sermons; 5
Sunday School Lessons;
5 Adult Studies; a
Confirmation Resource,
videos, bulletin inserts, 3
different methods of
seeking financial support
from members; training
materials for leaders and
resources for thanking
your people.
The good news is if you
didnt get a chance to use

the materials, it is not too

late. Why not consider
starting the program this
Winter, or this Spring?
Want help getting started;
contact one of the
members of your District
Stewardship Committee,
or Roger Janes.
We want to share with you
that a new Congregational
Giving Program, called
Salt & Light is presently
being prepared for 2016.
It should be available to
pastoral charges late this
Spring.

Stewardship

Page 4 of 6

Why I give to Mission & Service

We not only do the

work of charity, as
important as that is, we
are also about justice

Do you believe in
miracles? I do, and not
only in those that
happened in Jesus day. I
believe that miracles
happen today and I
have witnessed them!
At age 24 I boarded a
plane for the fifth time in
my life. The first time had
been seven months prior,
when I left for theological
school in Halifax. I had
never in my life been
further away than Nova
Scotia from my hometown
of Grand falls-Windsor,
Newfoundland and
Labrador. That spring day
I was heading all the way
to Vancouver. Both
anxious and excited I was
embarking on my first
summer field placement at First United Church on
the Downtown Eastside, a
ministry which receives
funding from Mission &
Service. Four months
later I came back to
Newfoundland and
Labrador a changed
young man. That
Summer I experienced our
church in an incredible
mission, and I got the
opportunity to really live
my faith. I came away
from that internship with a
new appreciation for The

United Church of Canada,

and a wonderful new
relationship with Mission &
Service. One that I think I
will cherish for the rest of
my life. I had my eyes
opened, and I glimpsed
miracles. I saw, for
instance, men who once
were strong and proud
working in the lumber
camps. But then,
because of injury or
increasing age, could no
longer make it on their
own. Without family and
supports, and often
haunted by an addiction to
alcohol and drugs, these
men were destitute and
often hopeless. I spoke
with young women, some
as young as 15, who
could no longer take the
abuse or the poverty at
home, who had left bad
situations, only to find
themselves out on the
street alone, with no
money for food and
shelter. Without a high
school diploma, or
marketable skills, these
women faced tough
decisions and very few
options. First United
Church became for many
of these people: a place of
safety, a free meal, a
clothing shop, a
community, an opportunity

for worship and spiritual

nurture, a venue for
counselling and advocacy
and help getting back on
their feet. How many
people said to me, This
place has saved me!
They were not just
speaking spiritually.
There are many charities
out there which do good
work, and I have
contributed to many of
them. For me, however,
Mission & Service is
special. It is not just
because it is our Mission
& Service, it is because of
the way in which we
minister through it. We
not only do the work of
charity, as important as
that is, we are also about
justice. What do I mean?
I think of it like this charity is about meeting a
specific need giving
food, clothing and shelter
to a community in crisis
(like we are doing
in Syria). Justice work
takes it two steps further:
firstly, it asks questions of
the system, like, why are
there so many people
living in poverty or crisis in
the first place, and what
can we do about that?

Cond on page 5

Stewardship

Page 5 of 6

Why I Give to Mission & Service (Cond)

Inside Story
Headline
Secondly,
it works with the
every day.
people themselves to improve
their lives, to help them
embrace new options and
look out for themselves.
Whether it is teaching farmers
in Asia how to grow
sustainable and organic
crops, or helping individuals
in St. Johns to find help,
home and a job, Mission &
Service is making a difference
in the world, near and far
away. In the often told
analogy, faced with a hungry
person we want to help, we
can give the person a fish and
feed him/her for the day, or
teach that person to fish so
they can eat for a lifetime!
What I appreciate about our
.
ministry through M&S we
are doing both. Through
ministry with local partners,
we are able to work
effectively and efficiently. We
work with skilled
organizations who are on the
ground and who know
therefore what is needed
most. The bottom line is we
are helping God create miracles

In the book of Micah we

hear these words, What
does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, and
to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your
God? (Micah 6:8)
Through M&S I am proud
to say that we do all
three! My hope and
prayer for 2016 is that all
of our United Church folk
may know the powerful
witness we are about, be
proud of it, and grow it.
If you do not yet give for
Mission & Service, please
consider doing so. If you
are already a giver, please
consider increasing your
gift this year. The world is
so much in need of
miracles. We can make a
real difference. Honestly
we can! Join me in giving
and in telling the story
of M&S.
Recent Blog post from
Roger Janes

First United Church, Vancouver

M&S at Work!

Thank YOU for supporting Mission & Service!

United Church
Bookstore
Need Stewardship
Resources? How about
Lenten Folders, Sympathy
or Special Occasion
Cards, or particular gift
ideas?
Contact either Leona at
the St. Johns office, or
Rochelle at the Grand
Falls-Windsor Office.
Leona
St. Johns
1-877-954-0386
ucbookstore@nfld.net

We want to take this opportunity to offer a great big THANK YOU to

all individuals who contributed to Mission & Service this past year.
We offer sincere gratitude as well to all who promoted M&S and the
Ministries we support through it. A special thanks to our Enthusiasts,
M&S Treasurers, Minute for Mission Readers, Division Members, Lay
Delegates to District, and our Clergy. Together we make an awesome
difference in the world in Jesus name!
Our people are generous, and M&S is that way in which all of us
across this wonderful Church do ministry together. But we are not
finished yet. We want to make sure that all those M&S dollars get to
National before the 2015 deadline January 29th, 2016.

To get credit for 2015 please get your M&S in as soon as

possible

Rochelle
GFW
1-709-489-5101

THANK YOU

newlabwest@nl.rogers.com

Mandate of the Stewardship Divisions

To provide leadership and resources to pastoral charges within
the bounds of East and West Districts in the areas of
congregational stewardship and the Mission and Service Fund.

Members of our Stewardship Divisions

West District Stewardship
Beatrice Wheaton (chair)
Joy Batstone (secretary)
Pansy Martin
Iris Hoddinott
Joyce Hart
Marion Stratton
Angela Hann
Ernest Paddock
Beverley Drummond
Roger Janes (Staff)

East District Stewardship

Gloria Myles (chair)
Maisie Johnson (secretary)
Fannie Hudson
Isabelle Cole
Lorraine Giles
Donna Hann
Melinda Legge
Essie Green
Marjorie Mercer
Roger Janes (Staff)