Stewardship Department
Episcopal Diocese of West Texas
Our Mission
Remind the people who are the Diocese of West Texas, that all that we are and all that we have belongs to God. Everything is a gift from God and we are the stewards - not only of our financial resources, but also of this created earth, our time, our talents, our families, our relationships, life itself, but most importantly God's word.
Provide the tools for churches to develop the financial resources that under gird their own mission and ministry. Thinking not in terms of what we can afford, but in terms of what we need!
Comprehensive Stewardship
During 2002, the department restructured the "stewardship" role into four distinct divisions: Annual Giving, Capital Giving, Legacy Giving, and Missionary Giving. Each type of giving requires a structure and core knowledge appropriate for its process. All consultants will be tithers. Each will be commissioned as a minister of the Diocese.
Chaired by Kirk Mason (Church of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi), this division is committed to provide educational resources in conjunction with commitment programs to help each congregation with the goal of year round stewardship. To that end, extensive resource material from The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) is available free of charge to each parish or mission upon request. These detailed action booklets for developing the annual commitment programs include: The Faithful Member Home Visitation Program, The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program, The Festive Meal Commitment Program and The Personal Note Commitment Program. Trained Annual Giving Consultants who function in teams of two or three will be available to all congregations. The training will focus on presenter, consultant, trainer and facilitator skills.
Capital Giving
more...
Ed Hodge (St. Luke’s, San Antonio) oversaw the creation of this division with a Capital Campaign Coaches training in October 2002. For those churches considering capital campaigns, consultants help vestries determine degree of congregational readiness and then planning the education process that produces readiness in a congregation, They will do feasibility studies; coach the advance gifts portion of the campaign; and teach the mechanics required for a successful campaign including the development of a realistic timeline of activities. They will also help determine the need for outside professional assistance and provide a listing of proven consulting firms.
Under the leadership of Allan Paterson (Christ Church, San Antonio) a group of attorneys, estate planners and investment advisors specializing in estate planning, taxes and investing for retirement have been gathered. They have developed a legacy stewardship vestry presentation, a one-hour congregational presentation and a three-hour “Final Affairs” presentation focusing on the meaning of Christian stewardship, wills and the probate process, estate planning tools, and death and dying issues. Because Non-profit organizations receive 90% of their charitable gifts through simple bequests, this division will focus on developing and implementing congregational “Wills Clinic.”
Missionary Giving more...
Alice Ann Fischer (Church of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi) has accepted the role of chair for this division and is working in close concert with the World Mission Department of the diocese. This large committee of passionate “missionaries” is not only developing a speakers’ bureau to inform congregations of the challenges and rewards, but also shares oversight with diocesan-wide mission funding events. There must be a communication effort in conjunction with the World Mission Division of the diocese. Stories of missionary vision, missionary vision fulfilled, and opportunities for mission will be featured in all diocesan publications, through traveling missionaries and a speakers’ bureau.
Steering Committee
Serving as oversight and coordination between divisions
Department Chair:
Division Chairs:
Staff Laision:
2004 Annual Report to Diocesan Council
The Department continues to be active in the ministries of congregations by consulting with them in several areas of their stewardship life. Our primary goal is to provide trained leaders to assist them in conducting efforts leading to the success of their financial well- being.
In the past year, the most noteworthy activity was a conference for clergy and lay leaders of 16 transitional congregations – those with an average Sunday attendance of 140 to 225 - led by The Rev. Canon Keith Brown. These congregations often stand at a crossroads of needing additional clergy to lead growth but are at a financial point where that is not practical. His workshop was an analysis and plan for contending with that welcome dilemma.The Rev. Canon Brown returned several months later to train the Annual Giving Division of the Department so that we could identify and assist congregations who are open to using statistical analysis to enhance their stewardship work. He further met with two congregations and directly addressed their work for the year. The basis of his teaching is the calling of The Great Commission. Evangelism and Stewardship are inextricably linked, and quantifiable measures of evangelism, stewardship and church growth are a way to assess progress in fulfilling our calling. Stewardship is about witnessing to our commitment to that calling.
The Annual Giving Division worked in several congregations as consultants for their stewardship efforts. The Capital Giving Division consulted in several others in assisting them in developing successful campaigns to meet growing physical needs. The Legacy Giving Division conducted several workshops around the diocese to raise awareness of the opportunities to consider the church in making estate plans. The Missionary Giving Division worked the entire year in support of the many ministries of the diocese in taking The Message to those outside of our diocese.
Ted R. Burkhart, Chair
Department of Stewardship
2003 Annual Report to Diocesan Council
The Department of Stewardship continues to serve parishes and missions in consultation to achieve the potential of “carrying on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world.” Through the process of a Stewardship Education Plan, our goal is to confront members of our church with the response of giving back to God a portion of that with which He has blessed us. This has been an interesting year in the life of the Stewardship Department as there has been a segment of our congregations who have been influenced by actions of the recent General Convention and have turned away from that understanding of our relationship to the Lord. While this is no different from other distractions or schisms in it’s ability to draw us away from our response to God, it has nonetheless been a challenge.
2003 is the first year the Department has been organized into four divisions and the opportunities have increased accordingly:
- Annual Giving Division - Kirk Mason, Chair
Eight Stewardship Consultants served in thirteen congregations providing leadership, planning, organization and process for EMC’s in those churches.
- Capital Funds Division - Ed Hodge, Chair
Three Consultant’s services were utilized in five congregations in planning capital funds assessments and processes for implementation.
- Legacy Giving Division - Allen Paterson, Chair
Seven Planned Giving workshops were held across the diocese. The division also served as a resource for literature and information leading to understanding of the potential for disposition of one’s final assets.
- Missionary Giving Division - Alice Ann Fischer, Chair
Giving to support outreach to the mission field was enhanced through the year with particular emphasis on the Women’s Center in Nebbi which is now entering the third phase of development. Other missionary areas include Mexico, Honduras and Russia.
The Department continues to train both clergy and lay persons in development of skills needed to assist congregations in living into the full and complete mission and ministry of the church. Two sessions were held and 25 consultants received additional training.
Ted R. Burkhart, Chair
Department of Stewardship
A Prayer
For Comprehensive Stewardship
Empower us by the presence of the Holy Spirit to be prophetic voices defining what it means to be a generous giver rather than a calculated taker.
Help us learn how to give of our love rather than from our need to control.
- Out of our faithfulness rather than our duty
- Out of our truthfulness rather than our untruthfulness and apology
- Out of our sense of integrated unity rather than from our sharp edges of disunity
Help us remember that it is in the selfless act of giving the very best that we have that we are able to honor you as the very source of all that we are and all that we will every be.
Help us remember that giving is ultimately far less defined simply by money and far more defined by an understanding that giving frames the very nature of our souls.
Help us show others the great privilege of giving and the great honor of receiving the blessed gifts of an always present Christ who knows us and calls us by name. Amen
