A Mindset of Abundance

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Giving Speaks

Giving Speaks is pleased to share this guest blog post by the Rev. Neal Jones* ~

People can be funny about money. I know some people with lots of money who act like they’re barely scraping by, and I know some people who are barely scraping by who are as generous as kings and queens. When it comes to money, perception can have little to do with reality.

How much we save and spend has more to do with our mindset than our bank account. Some people have a mindset of scarcity, a “glass half empty” outlook. They expect money, time, and love to be hard to come by. These resources could run out at any time, leaving you high and dry. You need to grab them and cling to them to make sure they don’t slip away. It’s hard to be generous with a clenched fist.

Some people have a mindset of abundance—a belief, a faith, really, that money, time, and love are plentiful and accessible. It’s an attitude of gratitude. Sure, we have to earn our keep, but the real bottom-line is that these things are primarily gifts from God, Life, or the Universe (choose your own term). When we focus on what we’re getting from life instead of what we’re not getting, it’s easy to feel generous and to be generous.

Congregations can operate from a mindset of scarcity or abundance, too. Healthy congregations have cultivated a culture of abundance, regardless of the net worth of the people involved. As individuals we may not be wealthy, but sense that we have been blessed with enough—enough to meet our needs and to fulfill the needs of our congregations.

In keeping with a culture and mindset of abundance, it helps for the congregation to begin with our shared aspirations in mind.

We ask ourselves and one another:

What do we value most about our community of faith and the meaning it brings to our lives?

What vision do we hold for our future and what we could accomplish together?

What can we pledge financially that reflects the level of our commitment to our community and our shared vision?

These are the questions and financial commitment we build our annual budget upon. We build on our mindset of abundance by providing other opportunities to give generously. An example of our abundance and generosity is our monthly shared offering program which has grown steadily each month, with more money given to benefit both the congregation and the other charitable and social justice organizations that receive our gifts.

It’s a strange arithmetic—the more we give away, the more we give. But it makes perfect sense…when you have a mindset of abundance.

(adapted with permission by the author)

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The Rev. Neal Jones, Psy. D., serves as the Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, SC http://www.uucolumbia.org/ .

The UU Congregation of Columbia is one the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Honor Congregations, a recognition of their generosity and annual financial support of their wider faith community. (www.uua.org/giving/apf )

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RESOURCES to Nurture Generosity & Abundance in Congregations: http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/generosity/index.shtml

Congregational Stewardship Services and Forward Through the Ages Program (FORTH): http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/forth/index.shtml

Giving–the sacred art by Lauren Tyler Wright: http://www.skylightpaths.com/page/product/978-1-59473-224-9, and six-session study guide for use by UU groups, www.uua.org/documents/stew-dev/study_guide_giving.pdf

Inspired Philanthropy by Tracy Gary: http://inspiredphilanthropy.com/

The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist: http://www.soulofmoney.org/

Gathering the Abundance: Stories and Transformation

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Giving Speaks

This is a resource for engaging our congregations in telling their stories as a way of interpreting and fulfilling their missions, by Rev. Naomi King~

A good inspirational story invites the listener into an emotionally laden conflict and brings the listener into a place of hope, joy, commitment, and/or encouragement. When we read stories or hear them, each story reveals its emotional content. We can only find that if we 1) observe the person telling the story and what emotional signals they are presenting and 2) observe our own reactions to the story and the emotional signals within ourselves.

How may we interpret our mission in the stories of our congregations and our cultures of giving?

First, refresh yourself with your congregation’s mission. What is the story it is telling us? What challenges does the mission present us?

Second, What’s the conflict in the story? For example:

a) We have not been engaging in social justice activities that reflect our deepest values and priorities as a congregation;

b) We’ve needed people who understand the ways to stand on the side of love and commit to leading the way;

c) We don’t have the money do all that we need in order to accomplish our social justice mission in the world.

Third, how might the conflict be resolved?

a) Offer a new model or alternative perspective as a solution to the problem or conflict;

b) Provide examples of real people who’ve made a difference through their contributions, both in their efforts and their resources;

c) Find donors willing to make matching or challenge grant to stimulate heightened giving and involvement.

Fourth, draft a way to retell a brief and pithy version of the story that uses descriptive language and imagery. Bring the story to life!
Fifth, how does the story affect our congregation?

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The Emotional Arc: Story and Transformation

Every story has encapsulated within it a conflict. Every conflict has emotions attached to it. Inspirational stories invite the listener into emotional identification with the conflict and its heart-warming or hopeful resolution. Every story has an emotional arc. Inspirational stories resolve conflicts in such a way that the listener’s own emotions follow the emotional narrative of the story.

Some Emotional Arcs

Apprehension–fear–despair

Apprehension–surprise–hope–delight

Joy–confusion–grief–exhaustion

Uneasiness–wonder–happiness-commitment

Transformational storytelling requires the storyteller to discover the emotional arc of the current story, imagine a new story’s emotional arc beginning in the same place as the current story, and offering the new story repeatedly, to guide the listeners into another emotional state. Some people call this reframing. Effective reframing begins with the original story’s emotional beginning, but opens to a new possible ending.

For example, a congregation may frame its story in this way:

We are a poor church; we always have been and always will be.

There are at least two possible arcs to this story which may influence the experience of the congregation:

1) Pride–pleasure–contentment

2) Shame–defensiveness–resignation

Another example:

Our congregation has survived the tough times through good stewardship and a commitment to generosity. We have great opportunities and energy; and we’ll find our way through!

The Emotional Arc begins with pride, then moves to joy, then to hope and heightened commitment.

And another;

We have been a church without many resources, but we’re different now. We have a great program, lots of visitors, and a clear sense of mission. We are on our way!

The Emotional Arc begins with shame, but moves quickly to hope, followed by confirmation, pride, and excitement.

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The Reverend Naomi King is a Unitarian Universalist minister who has served congregations in Maine, Texas, New York, and Florida. Naomi’s virtual ministry has expanded through social networking to touch the lives of many around the world.

Rev. Naomi King was the recipient of the UUA’s Stewardship Sermon Award in 2005, for her sermon entitled Stand By This Faith, http://uua.org/worship/words/sermons/submissions/8790.shtml

To contact Rev. Naomi:

Twitter: @revnaomi

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RevNaomiKing

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rev-naomi-king/1b/bb6/8a9

Be Like Water

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Giving Speaks

This is another in the Creating Cultures of Generosity–One Story at a Time series…..Be Like Water by Laurel Amabile

Be like water

run deep run clear

fill any space to its own dimensions

respond to the moon, to gravity

change colors with the light

hold your temperature longer than the surrounding air

take the coast by storm

go under ground

bend light

be the one thing people need, even when they’re

fasting

eat boulders, quietly

be a universal solvent.

~Kendra Ford*

In Kendra Ford’s lovely poetic imagery, we are being invited to be like water, to be a universal solvent.

A solvent is a substance in which another substance is dissolved, forming a solution. Solvents explain things and change things. Water is considered a “universal solvent,” for it is a powerful and life-sustaining necessity, as is change.

Being a stewardship leader and fundraiser–whether in a paid or volunteer capacity–is as challenging as it is rewarding. It is easy to get discouraged in the face what are sometimes overwhelming financial needs of the organization and the effects of a slow economic recovery. It is vital for stewardship leaders and those raising the funds for congregations and other organizations to maintain a strong internal commitment to the mission and values. This means a good measure of self-care and centering on the part of the individual to sustain positive energy and momentum for the work.

As a stewardship leader, when I need to find my center, to focus my thoughts, or to solve a problem, my tendency is to seek out a body of water—a flowing river, a lake, the ocean—and let its power and natural beauty wash over me, inspire me and change me.

My annual pilgrimage is to Diana’s Baths in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The sounds of the flowing water are so loud they drown out the noises of the people who gather there.

The flow of the water down the mountainside is so powerful it has smoothed the stone surface, carving out the rounded “baths” in which you could sit (if you could stand the temperature!)

Years back I attended the Mountain School for Congregational Leadership in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.

Late one evening during the leadership school, all willing and able participants were loaded into vans and driven to an unnamed location for an annual ritual. I was packed into the back seat of the van wondering when the long and somewhat nauseating drive on the winding back roads would ever end.

When we arrived at our destination, we were unloaded and gathered in the dark parking lot for instructions from our faculty leaders.

We were to line up, with our hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us or to link arms.

We were told to close our eyes, move slowly forward with the group, to remain silent, and feel for any signals to pause or slow down as we navigated down two dozen stone stairs and uneven slopes.

We had to trust our leaders, the only ones who knew where we were going and the only ones with flashlights, there in the pitch dark.

The pace was excruciatingly slow for me, for in front of me was a man with an old leg injury who really was at risk of falling. This man usually used a cane to get around, but here in this line up, those of us around him were his support.

There were times when the line seemed to pause for minutes on end and with no explanation. As we moved along the rough and invisible terrain, I was flooded with thoughts and emotions. I was frustrated to the point I wanted to scream.

I was irritated and began thinking of how I might climb over those in front of me, grab the flashlight, and get things moving, since the leaders were obviously not able to keep it going. There was a point when I seriously thought I needed to detach myself from this nightmare and fumble back to the van and wait in peace for the crowd to return.

The only things that held me in the line-up were

1) the man needing support in front of me,

2) my curiosity about the outcome, and

3) the sound of rushing water calling me onward.

Finally we were moving closer and closer to the thundering water. I could feel the spray in the air around me. Then I felt the nudge and opened my eyes.

We were under a giant rock with an enormous waterfall flowing out in front of us—called Dry Falls.

It was awe-inspiring, with a force that generated its own light in the darkness. Even if we were free to talk, we were speechless with wonder.

Finally the group began to move, and we walked back along the pathway in silence, eyes opened and forever changed by the experience we had shared.

That is the nature of leadership. We are called to be like water, be a universal solvent. We must cast the vision, inspire trust among the followers (though they may grumble), and lead people along the pathway that is often hard to navigate.

The solution is in the process of change and power in the transformation. Be like water; run deep, run clear; be a universal solvent. May it be so.

May we be open to the experience of listening and exploring new ideas, to be a part of something much greater than ourselves, and by engaging in this caring community, be transformed. Blessed Be.

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The reading Be Like Water was published in a meditation manual How We Are Called published by Skinner House Books. 2003. It is used with both the author’s and publisher’s permission.

Skinner House Books: http://www.uua.org/publications/skinnerhouse/browseskinner/13879.shtml

The Reverend Kendra Ford is the minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Exeter, NH: http://fuusexeter.blogspot.com/

The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center is located in the mountains of Western North Carolina: http://mountaincenters.org/