God's Mission Our Gifts: Your September Mission and Service Stories and more!

Your September Mission and Service Stories SEPTEMBER  1 Moments of Connection   [Photo credit: Cave Springs Camp]   “I found a salamander!” someone exclaims as other campers rush over to see. At Mission and Service partner Cave Springs Camp in Beamsville, ON, children enjoy moments of connection with nature and each other. In such a peaceful setting, the beauty of nature can inspire a deep appreciation for the earth and a desire to take care of it. SEPTEMBER 8 It Starts with Education   [Image credit: oksanashufryc]   As we look to the future, the impact of educational initiatives through Mission and Service partners becomes clear. Every lesson learned, every skill acquired, and every relationship built contributes to a larger tapestry of hope and resilience. .     SEPTEMBER 15 A Journey of Faith and Peace   [Image credit: David McIntosh]   “We all need to come together to be a community, a community of God’s children striving to seek peace in the world. All people of compassion, wisdom, and belief need to come together in order to take care of one another, and to take care of our beautiful world that the Creator made,” says United Church young adult Sophie Fitzgerald after attending the Minority Youth Forum in Japan.   SEPTEMBER 22 Inuinnaqtun Language Revival Group     [Photo credit: Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society]   The Inuinnaqtun language is the cultural foundation of the Inuinnait people, who live in the central Canadian Arctic. The word Inuinnaqtun literally means “to be like an Inuinnaq (a person).” Mission and Service partner Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, is dedicated to keeping Inuinnaqtun alive for new generations.   SEPTEMBER 29 Update: Pastors Retreat—Respite and Reflection     [Photo credit: Derek Sutton on Unsplash]   A short while ago, we shared that a Pastors Retreat is being planned for October of 2024. This retreat will provide badly needed respite for northern United Church ministers who are facing a crisis. Your response has been profound and powerful. Ask Glenn and Dave! Q: How can I get our story told by Mission and Service? A: Very easily. First, make sure your project is supported by Mission and Service, either directly or through grants from your region. Regardless, we want to hear about it. Contact Lindsay Vautour at lvautour@united-church.ca and send a brief outline. Lindsay will schedule a time to talk and will write up your story for publication on the web and for inclusion in God's Mission Our Gifts (GMOG). If you have a question for Glenn and Dave, just send in your questions on our handy form. You’ll get an answer by email or in the next issue of God’s Mission, Our Gifts, or both (your choice). And if your question stumps our all-star team of two, they may even collaborate! If you haven’t, take a few minutes and do it today!   Questions? Email Mission and Service or call us at 1-800-465-3771.  Congregational Stewardship/Generosity    This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples as part of doing God’s mission. Please modify and use these ideas in your context.    FREE Worship Resources!  It’s a wonderful convergence. (Probably Spirit-led, as I don’t believe in coincidence.)     Communities of Faith are discovering how important it is to integrate into worship good stewardship teaching and opportunities. When stewardship is more than “fundraising to meet the budget” and is actually about celebrating how we are using our resources to respond to God’s calling and the work of helping nurture generous disciples, “Let us now receive our tithes and offerings” doesn’t cut it anymore.    At the same time, more and more Communities of Faith are rediscovering the joy and depth of planning worship on their own, rather than having paid clergy do it for them. Many are looking for resources to help.    That’s where we come in.    On the Stewardship in Worship page, you can find FREE:     Sermons and Liturgies  Worship resources for different times in the church year, including “28 Days to Thanksgiving” to use in September and Lectionary Worship Starter ideas for 2024.   Stewardship Seconds (updated for July-December 2024)   Short, pithy sayings that pack a punch, to help infiltrate stewardship thinking into your community of faith. Add them to newsletters, worship, announcements, webpages, wherever people gather!    Offering Introductions & Dedication Prayers (updated for July-December 2024)   The offering time in worship is NOT about collecting money! It is about growing generous disciples and stewards. These Offering Introductions, and Dedication Prayers, for each Sunday of the year, will help.     They are all ready to use or easy for you to adapt to your context.    And we’d love to hear if there are other stewardship in worship resources you need. Please let us know.  Rev. Dave Jagger Community of Faith Stewardship Lead Called to be the Church: The Journey   The courses in our United Church stewardship program, Called to Be the Church: The Journey, really make a difference.    Little Current United Church in Canadian Shield region saw a 22% increase in PAR giving after their minister invited people to review their PAR giving as part of the offering for 3 weeks. Imagine what could happen in your Community of Faith if you had a stewardship plan and the coaching to carry it out.      Step right up and join the movement!     NEW COURSE OPTION!  On Demand: Bequests and Estate Giving   Don’t wait! Start now!! Do it on your own timeline. Watch the videos. Answer the quizzes. And we’re still here to help you make bequests and estate giving a reality for your community of faith.    Find more information and register for all these courses at CHURCHx.     Getting Started in Stewardship   Join United Church people across the country to learn some stewardship first principles.     SPECIAL SUMMER COURSE: Get ready for the fall. August 27, 4:00-5:30 pm Eastern, with a reunion on October 14, 4:00-5:00 pm Eastern.    Stewardship Best Practices  Best done AFTER Getting Started in Stewardship.    REVISED PROGRAM:  Phase 1: FIVE weeks. (Ends before Advent!) Two-hour sessions each week. The first hour is learning and content. The second hour is discussion and application for you to set goals, create an annual stewardship plan, and get energized!  Phase 2: 10 months of coaching for implementation starts January 2025.    Course fee: Pay what you can. Recommended fee $100/team.     Setting Up Your Congregational Giving Program    Learn how best to utilize the Called to Be the Church Giving Program materials and develop a plan that will work for your church with two 2-hour online sessions and coaching.    Fall dates now available: We moved the January course ahead into November to make it easier to plan your giving program for January-June 2025.   Bequests and Planned Giving for Your Community of Faith: Live Online Explore how to set up and maintain a Planned Giving Program at your church, with two one-hour online sessions. Course fee: $29.99/person.   Find more information and register for all these courses at CHURCHx.    For more information on these and other stewardship supports, contact called@united-church.ca.    New FREE Stewardship Resource Kits  No need to dig through downloads and struggle to decide what you need for your Community of Faith to grow in stewardship. Now you can choose from one of these free Stewardship Resource Kits:  Stewardship Starter Resource Kit  Stewardship Digging Deeper Resource Kit  Stewardship program Resource Kit  Planned Legacy Giving Resource Kit  Each kit contains a number of resources and a “READ THIS FIRST” document to help you use the resources.  Find the kits on the Encouraging Generosity in Your Community of Faith page on our website.  New Stewardship Blog: “Because This Place Exists, Lives Are Changed”   In our latest stewardship blog, Rev. Brenna Baker writes about the importance of understanding stewardship as a spiritual discipline, not a financial discipline. [Image credit: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels.com] Get Ready for Thanksgiving!  Even though it is still the middle of summer, we’re giving you the opportunity to look towards fall and plan your community of faith’s Thanksgiving Sunday celebration. We’ve created a new service for 2024 along with a separate sermon and a prayer to help you focus, so you can download whatever you need. Find this service and more downloadable resources for Thanksgiving and the weeks leading up to it on our Thanksgiving Sunday worship page.  Get the Stewardship Support You Need The people and resources to help you succeed are here.  Opportunities to Make a Difference Are you concerned about climate change and the global food system? About Canada’s role in improving food security for people around the world who experience hunger? If you’re a United Church person interested in learning about global hunger and in meeting with MPs in person, you’re invited to apply for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) Hunger on the Hill Event being held in Ottawa October 19-23, 2024.   Pilgrim | October 19-23, 2024 | Adults (18+) | $100 Opening date for applications: July 29, 2024 Closing date for applications: August 31, 2024 More information at Hunger on the Hill The United Church of Canada is seeking individuals interested in applying for a Canadian Foodgrains Bank Food Security Learning Tour to Zimbabwe and Mozambique to learn about hunger, food security and the cultures and history of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.  Participants will meet with partners leading projects in Zimbabwe and Mozambique during this trip, including United Church partner, Zimbabwe Council of Churches.   Pilgrim | March 14 - 30, 2025 | $4500 (subsidies available) Opening date for applications: 2024-07-30 Closing date for applications: 2024-09-30 More information at Food Security Learning Tour GIFTS WITH VISION: Getting Children out of Coal Mines In rural Colombia, the only opportunities for youth living in poverty to help support their families are to work in coal mines or burn wood for charcoal. Both are dangerous jobs where they are easily exploited. But when you’re young, poor, and isolated, what other choice do you have?   El Centro Ecuménico para América Latina de Comunicación (CEPALC) gives these youth an opportunity to go to Bogotá and attend courses where they learn about their rights, network with other youth to fight exploitation, and develop the skills to tell their stories. Through their work on programs on “Encuentro Radio,” they share the realities of working in the mines to a wider audience and develop the networks that will help all of them build better lives. Did you know that you can receive your tax receipts by email to speed up the process? Choosing to receive your tax receipts by email also allows you to find them more easily at tax time. Don’t shuffle through piles of papers looking for your receipts—just check your email inbox! GOD’S MISSION, OUR GIFTS is your newsletter. We want to provide news and information that you can use in your community of faith, whether you’re a minister, a board member, an administrator, a treasurer, or anyone else who wants to make a difference.   What else would you like to see? What can we do to help your community of faith get where it needs to go? Send us your thoughts! Donate Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn   Your generosity enables the United Church to love, serve, and minister in the world. Make an online donation or learn more about your options to support the work of the church.

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