Encouraged by young Episcopalians’ passionate involvement in Millennium Development Goals initiatives to eradicate poverty globally, Bishop Ted Gulick urged leaders of the diocese’s congregations to cultivate an understanding of stewardship as an act of giving out of desire and moral responsibility rather than out of guilt and obligation.

Noting that most congregations are now engaged in their annual stewardship campaigns, Gulick explained that it is important for us to see that we are made in God’s image and, like Jesus, are a gift to the world. Stewardship, he said, is best illustrated and explained by Jesus. “What is the one nonliving entity that Jesus gave a name to?” Gulick asked. “Mammon, which is Aramaic for money. You cannot serve God and serve Mammon. Money can take on something like a personality, said rabbi Jesus.”

“Jesus was saying that you better learn how to manage Mammon, or Mammon will manage you,” the bishop said. With credit card companies aggressively targeting young people, as early as their teens, Gulick said, our churches face having “a whole census” of people who are addicted to debt. Stewardship campaigns can be an “annual guilt trip” for the less privileged members of congregations and especially “horrible” for those in debt. The stewardship season, however, need not be difficult if churches redefine their approach, he said, recalling instances of giving by individuals for whom it was a matter of desire and not means.  “If we can turn stewardship season around to help them see themselves as a gift and teach them how to manage Mammon, then a byproduct might be a healthier parish budget.”

The bishop was speaking to about 30 church leaders attending the diocese’s annual Fall Leadership Conference, which was held Oct. 28 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Owensboro. They came from across the diocese, from as far west as Grace Church in Paducah as well as from Louisville and Jefferson County congregations. This year’s conference introduced churchwardens, treasurers and other administrators to various diocesan-sponsored services and programs established to assist the churches in fulfilling their ministries and canonical obligations.

Coming from the greatest distance, Patrick Herold with the Episcopal Media Center in Atlanta introduced a Web-based system known as the Diocesan Digital Community, which he developed to help dioceses’ and congregations’ communications. Herold is the Web developer who has been instrumental in redesigning the diocese’s new Web site and is helping us establish our own digital community. He explained that the communications system offers more than just a means for managing individual Web sites. Using Google technologies, it has sophisticated search and data archiving capabilities, an interactive calendar and a project-planning component that will enhance communications and planning within churches and diocesan organizations. Its search capabilities will extend to the Web sites of all partnering churches and diocesan entities, expanding the amount of local data available to the community through its search engine. In addition to speaking to the whole group, Herold also held a training session for representatives from congregations interested in joining the digital community.

Two speakers specifically addressed issues and programs involving church finances and stewardship. In the morning, Jim Hill, chair of the audit committee, spoke about a new service, developed by the audit committee, to help our congregations have audits done, at minimal cost, as required by the diocesan canons. To that end the audit committee began last year recruiting and training volunteer audit teams. Unless a church’s financial exigencies require an external audit by a certified public accountant, a church can arrange to have a volunteer team do a basic audit for a church for only the cost of expenses. The volunteer teams can save a congregation between $3,000 and $4,000, said Hill. To date, audits have been done for congregations outside the Louisville area. They plan to begin offering audits to Louisville area churches in 2007. That afternoon, David Brooks, chairperson of the diocese’s newly organized Department of Stewardship and Finance, outlined different financial vehicles available for individual giving to churches and organizations. These included insurance policies, stocks, wills and annuity trusts. In addition to their talks, Becky Meyer, the diocese’s controller, updated the church leaders on insurance options, changes in the tax laws, and other church business practices and matters.

Church outreach programs also were on the agenda. Jack Hanstein, former Jubilee officer for the Diocese of Northern Calinfornia, spoke about current and possible opportunities for church outreach. Now a resident of western Kentucky, he is a member of our newly formed Jubilee division and is serving as the diocesan Jubilee educator. After outlining various outreach ministries supported by our congregations and the diocese, Hanstein spoke about outreach ministries that can be done by even the smallest congregations. For example, he said churches can share their space during times when the facility is not being used for church activities. Drawing from his outreach experience in California, he described a church that provided a makeshift, overnight shelter to transient workers and others that have used their kitchen facilities to provide hot meals for those in need. “The only thing that limits us from providing an outreach program is our own imagination and the needs of our communities,” he said. “It doesn’t take a lot of people to do outreach ministry.”

Concluding the conference presentations, Canon Jay Magness, whose diocesan work includes overseeing congregational development, informed the church leaders about two workshops he has been facilitating in our congregations. The first workshop, he said, takes about four and a half hours on a Saturday, during which he outlines the church leaders’ and vestries’ roles and responsibilities, as set out by diocesan canons. The other workshop may take place over two Saturdays a couple of months apart, as church leaders undertake the process of envisioning the congregation’s mission, based on their resources and commitment, and then developing a strategic plan that includes specific, measurable goals for accomplishing the mission. To move a congregation from being good to great, he said, takes “knowing how to dream, dreaming with discipline…. and dreaming with the eyes of God.”