Northeast Ecumenical Stewardship Council 2015 Conference

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

HOWEVER, Walk-Ins are welcome on Friday and Saturday. Please bring a check with you to pay for your conference if you are walking in on Friday and/or Saturday.

Please note that the hotel is full and no more rooms are available, but there are other hotels in the area.

Stewardship in the Changing Church: Moving from Consumerism to Generosity, April 17-18, 2015

Holiday Inn, Boxborough, Massachusetts

A 2-day conference on Stewardship for clergy and lay leaders

Churches can't just keep doing things the same old way and expect new results. Instead we need to look at transformation and what moves individuals to a new spiritual place in how they look at money. This conference features inspiring stories, practical helps, engaging worship, and networking opportunities to learn from others around New England. Come hear about what is working in churches, new forms of stewardship, learn some skills and get resources to take back to your congregations. 

Special Keynotes by:

 The Right Rev. Michael Curry: Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Michael Curry is an inspiring and enthusiastic reformer with a clear call to reinvigorate the Church. Many people have experienced Christ's transforming power through Bishop Curry's ministry. He is author of Crazy Christians: A Call toFollow Jesus.

We need some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to love like Jesus, to give like Jesus, to for-give like Jesus, to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God— like Jesus. Crazy enough to dare to change the world from the nightmare it often is into something close to the dream that God dreams for it. And for those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live as and be the people of the Way? It might come as a shock, but they are called to craziness.

Ben Stroup: a content activist in a post-paragraph world. He is chief broker of oppor-tunity at Ben Stroup Enterprises which helps individuals and organizations with a message and platform to disrupt, engage, and inspire others to connect, collaborate, and create change. Author of numerous books including Church Giving Matters: More Money Really Does Mean More Ministry.

I help pastors and church leaders be successful balancing ministry and money. But money is not the end result … it’s the vehicle that God provides to fund the ministry He has called the church to accomplish, a unique purpose that only the church is designed to fulfill.

Worship Leaders:

This Musical Duo, Thomas and Ingrid Faniel, residents of Windsor, CT are members of the Historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Hartford, CT where they have served together faithfully for over 40 years.

Thomas, originally from Montgomery, AL, is a retired Principal, and is currently a Leadership Coach, supporting first and second year principals in the Hartford Public School System.  He is also a Bass/Baritone and unselfishly shares his talent in his church choirs and community events. While in college, he sang in the Superbs, a male R & B group. 

 Ingrid’s musical journey began in her father’s church, in North Carolina, playing piano, organ and singing.  Ingrid taught elementary school in Hartford, CT, worked in Corporate America, a Community Based Organization and is presently a Partner in Workforce Training Associates, LLC, a Consulting Firm specializing in organizational behavior. Thomas and Ingrid love sharing their gift of music.

WORKSHOPS

Each workshop will be offered twice; once on Friday afternoon, then repeated on Saturday morning.

1. Stewardship in the Emerging Church, Ben Yosua-Davis

What happens when you ask people to give to your church and they say “why?”  What does stewardship look like for those who have never given before or for those who have few financial resources? In what ways can financial education help people express their deepest values through the resources that God has given them? We’ll take a look at these questions through the story of the Vine, a church without walls in Haverhill, MA, exploring the spiritual experience of financial stewardship for those who are post-Christian or live in poverty.

Ben Yosua-Davis is a former United Methodist church planter who now shares his experiences living on the spiritual frontiers of our country. He has written for national blogs such as “Ministry with the Poor” (ministrywith.org) and “The Burner” (theburner.org) and blogs at www.benyd.com.

 2. Freed-Up Financial Living, Gary Melville

We have been so concerned about fundraising to balance the church budget that we have forgotten to faith-raise disciples and equip skilled stewards.  Participants in this workshop will review and experience the “Freed-Up Financial Living” course.  Designed by lay people, this ministry delivers basic financial planning concepts from a Christian perspective.  This 6 hour, DVD based course provides tools for living a healthy life both spiritually and financially. 

Gary Melville is the Director of Development for the United Methodist Foundation of New England.  He works with local churches to integrate faith money concepts year-round.  Gary views stewardship as discipleship and evangelism. 

3. Communicating Stewardship Year Round Without Doubling Your ‘to do’ List”- Nancy Davidge

Your congregation has made a commitment to a year round stewardship and gratitude program:  Your next step is to develop a communications plan that is fun, engaging, and deeply spiritual – and also practical. In this workshop, you’ll learn ways to build a communications plan starting with your congregation's stories of ministry and faith and primarily using resources already in place.

Nancy Davidge is associate program director at the Episcopal Church Foundation and editor of ECF Vital Practices (www.ecfvp.org). She works extensively with Episcopal congregations and organizations, seeking out and working with vital congregations, sharing their stories and experiences through ECF Vital Practices. Nancy is passionate about helping congregational leaders transform their thinking about communication, recognizing it as an opportunity to share our stories and the Good News rather than primarily as a means to transmit information.

4. Narrative Budgets: A Mission Story - the Rev. Jim Thomas

It’s difficult to be passionate about line items in a budget. This workshop explores a different ways to present a church budget focused on mission and ministry, not spreadsheets. Line item budgets are useful for accountants, while Narrative Budgets are an educational and visioning tool. Learn to refocus budget talk from sheets of numbers to discussions of the work of the church. Real world examples of narrative budgets will be discussed, and their success noted. Learn how to express your financial stewardship in a way that inspires connection and commitment.

Rev. Jim Thomas serves as the Associate Conference Minister for Stewardship, Church Vitality, and Finance for the Vermont Conference, United Church of Christ. On the Conference staff for the past ten years, he consults with local congregations on Stewardship, budgeting, vitality, growth, planned giving, strategic planning and more. He recently ended an 11 year pastorate at the First Congregational Church, UCC in Randolph Center.

5.  Creating a SEASON of Generosity – A New Approach to Annual Stewardship -  Patsy Bjorling

Giving and sharing are the very heart of the Gospel.  Yet, it’s probably fair to say that the stewardship time of year isn’t an especially uplifting season either for most stewardship committees or church congregations.  This need not be the case!  Joy-filled giving is not only possible, but transformational.  Learn how a new approach to annual stewardship -- a Season of Generosity -- can change your congregation’s outlook about giving, contribute to church vitality, and improve the bottom-line financial results of your annual stewardship efforts. 

Patricia (Patsy) Bjorling is Director of Development for El Hogar Ministries of Woburn, MA, which supports four schools in Honduras for abandoned and impoverished children. Formerly she served on the staffs of the Connecticut and Hawaii Conferences of the UCC and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, providing stewardship education, capital campaign assistance, and planned giving and endowment consultation.  Her "non-church" career includes some 20+ years of development work for colleges, museums, and other non-profits. 

6. Real Good Church: Authenticity, Transparency, Money and the Millenials -  Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette

Ten years ago, you could have heard crickets in the pews on a Sunday morning at First Church Somerville UCC in Somerville, MA. Today, the pews are full—of people under the age of 40. Not only has attendance increased dramatically, giving has increased dramatically among people new to the church, and even new to the faith. Last year, this church that had recently considered the possibility of closing their doors held a successful $750,000 capital campaign to restore their building—the vast majority raised from young working people and students.

Come and learn some of what First Church Somerville did, the hard work they worked to get into a position to receive the gifts God wanted to give them. Be prepared, in this hands-on workshop, to discuss honestly and openly a huge shift in the way we think and talk about money and giving in our churches.  Recommended reading ahead of time:

• Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate, J. Clif Christopher
• Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead and Yours Can Too, Molly Phinney Baskette

Molly Baskette is, in no particular order, a mother, spouse, recovering workaholic, cancer survivor, adventurous home cook. And oh right: she’s also the lead pastor of the quirky, loveable, burgeoning community of First Church Somerville UCC in Somerville, MA, recently dubbed the hippest city in America. She is a regular contributor to the UCC's Feed Your Spirit site, including the UCC Daily Devotionals, and the author of Real Good Church, as well as Remembering My Grandparent and Remembering My Pet, two practical grief books for children.

7.  Economic Discipleship 101: Creating a Culture of Generosity through Small Groups - Elizabeth Grady-Harper and Christa Lee-Chuvala

Conversations about how we spend money can be difficult. But these deeper conversations within communities of faith are personally and collectively transformative. Small groups focused on economic discipleship—the practice of following Jesus with our money—provide both safe and challenging environments for discussion and action toward more generous lifestyles. In this workshop, you’ll go through an interactive curriculum that explores wealth through a biblical lens and has motivated hundreds of participants to find ways to spend less, spend more justly, and give more. 

Elizabeth Grady-Harper and Christa Lee-Chuvala are the Directors of the Boston Faith & Justice Network, an organization that gathers Christians from many different traditions sharing a common concern to love our neighbor through economic discipleship. BFJN engages Christians to think about our resources, from the money we earn, to the food we eat, to the places we live, and offers opportunities for action and reflection.