Stewardship Resources |

More and more congregations are sharing all or a portion of their cash or non-pledge offering received, weekly or monthly. The offering is then given by the congregation to a cause or organization with a mission that aligns with their faith principles and values. Many congregation leaders report that giving overall has increased, with thousands of dollars contributed to do good works in the wider community.

I have created a short poll for you to indicate your congregation’s decisions and practices around sharing offering plate contributions. I invite you to go respond to the poll question using the online poll below.

The responses will be visible in a graph and I will share what I learn in a future blog post. In the meantime, I am interested in any stories of how sharing in this way enhances the culture of generosity in a congregation

There is still time to respond to the “sharing the offering plate” poll on the Giving Speaks blog, if you haven’t already. There are many congregation leaders interested in what the overall giving trends were in your congregations before, during and after the economic recession. Did overall congregational giving go up? Down? Stay the same?

Thank you for your interest and participation!

For more information about sharing offering plate contributions, go to:

InterConnections Articles

http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/2390.shtml

http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/2389.shtml

The best advice might not be “Give from your heart,” but “Give from where you want your heart to be!” Give as though you were the sort of person you would like to be–and let your heart catch up later!

I came across this quote in an article by Mark Allen Powell, an author and New Testament professor, and they got me to thinking about the challenge many of us face in aligning our charitable giving with our values and priorities. Religions and wisdom traditions around the world offer explicit guidelines for giving, with a common thread: your treasure is where your heart is.

Many of us aspire to grow in our capacity to be generous. We want to be in a position to give more of our time, money, and energy to the people, institutions, and causes most important to us. However, this can be a challenging aspiration for many, depending on our financial circumstances and obligations. Generosity and giving are learned behaviors, developmental in nature, and reinforced by practice and the emotional rewards experienced.

As Powell suggests, sometimes we need to envision ourselves as generous people, clarify what is most important to us, and then simply engage in the action of giving. With each act of generosity, we begin to think of ourselves and others differently. It is through our regular practice of giving that we align our behavior and our resources with our heart.

May it be so.

Resources for Exploring Religious and Wisdom Teachings about Giving, Generosity, and Stewardship:

http://www.learningtogive.org/faithgroups/

http://library.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=9&page=172

http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/48907677.html

http://library.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=9&page=172

http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/dharma-quotes-quotations-buddhist/tonglen-taking-giving.htm