Annual Giving | Program Overview2020 Diocese of Virginia Fall Stewardship

Welcome once again to annual giving ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia – we are so glad you’re here!

Modeling Our Own TeachingThe offices of Stewardship & Development at the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia model what we teach! Even when an annual giving ministry works really well, churches should change it up about every three years so everyone participating experiences God’s call in a new and engaging way.

Proportional Giving : Our first liturgical cycle of annual giving materials (2016 – 2018) draws themes from Holy Eucharist liturgy and focuses on proportional giving.

Visual Storytelling : Our second liturgical cycle draws themes from our Holy Baptism liturgy, with a focus on visual storytelling through the use of ministry icons.

Annual Giving LibraryThe full library of turn-key annual giving resources, which are described on the following pages, always remains available through www.thediocese.net. Churches are invited to choose the theme and focus that works best for their culture and context. All programs offer a separate logo specification document, so that ministry leaders may expand church-wide communications with matching fonts, colors, and other details. Logo WorkOur work with Whitney Tigani at Whitney Tigani Design, LLC is always a raucous fun journey of discovery. Each year Whitney’s generative creativity takes up deeper still into our theme, always calling us to exclaim, “We didn’t know we needed to see that!” Thank you, Whitney.Holy Agility: What’s Different in 2020For many of us, the word “unprecedented” does not begin to describe 2020 to this point. Moreover, we certainly cannot anticipate the tools, words, and considerations we might need once our ministry context in August and September arrive.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia | 110 W. Franklin Street | Richmond, Virginia 23220800-DIOCESE | www.thediocese.net

So while we cannot codify a plan, we can prepare! Throughout this year’s program you will find ways for your fall campaign (and for your wider church ministries as well) to navigate with nimble, flexible, agile leadership. As we continue to journey through COVID-19, anticipate economic fluctuations, engage boldly with race and social discernment, and prepare for an election season – we embrace and welcome the sacred ground of Holy Agility.

Our Fall 2020 Program

One Together2020 is a distinctive year of ministry. Our fall annual giving program is as well. The theme centers on the opening words from our Holy Baptism liturgy:There is one Body and one Spirit;There is one hope in God’s call to us;One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism;One God and Father of all.(BCP p. 299)This turn-key program continues with the foundation laid by last year’s Wonder in All in both its liturgical source and visual storytelling. However, One Together also integrates ‘Holy Agility’ into our work and teaching. We cannot predict the texture and circumstances of our congregational life come this fall, but we can prepare for the sacred ground ahead of us.

Our Fall 2019 Program

Wonder in All(with Year C reflections from 2019 & a blank reflection template available)

This turn-key annual giving ministry is based on the Prayer after Baptism (on pg. 308 in the Book of Common Prayer) which concludes with ‘give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.’ Use these sacrament-based resources to lead your congregation on an engaging journey of story-telling and wonder through their own baptismal commitment – and through the faithful commitment of your church community. Our new ministry ‘icon library’ allows you to choose visual cues that prompt stories of specific impact both within your church community and outside in community of neighbors your serve. Wonder what this means? Check it out!

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia | 110 W. Franklin Street | Richmond, Virginia 23220800-DIOCESE | www.thediocese.net

Our Lectionary Cycle with Proportional Giving and Living Focus

All Hearts Open (with Year A reflections from 2017 & a blank reflection template available)

These resources are based on the Collect for Purity, which begins ‘Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid …’. Many hear these sentences every Sunday, but miss the call into worship and into relationship with God exactly because they are settling into their pews, finding they hymn page, and frankly because they do hear them at the beginning of every service. The words are lost to repetition. This annual giving ministry invites people deeply into this rich prayer and into how our hearts are open to God, to ourselves, and to others.Now into the World(with Year B reflections from 2018 & a blank reflection template available)

Based on the post-communion prayer on pg. 365, this theme invites congregations to reflect on the many worlds of ministry at our churches and the urgency … the now … with which Jesus Christ calls us. These ministries can be outside the church walls, where many consider the “world” to be. They can be calls inside the church walls to the world of the altar guild, the world of scripture study, or the world of liturgy. They can also be urgent calls to move with God more deeply into our own worlds of grief, parenting, elder care, or loneliness. Wherever members find themselves, this program meets them there and invites them deeper into their own worlds of ministry, and deeper into the generous people they already are.Walk in Love (with Year C reflections from 2016 & a blank reflection template available)

This program is grounded in the offertory sentence spoken in many churches each Sunday: ‘Walk in Love as Christ loved us and gave himself to us in offering and sacrifice to God.’ If offers participants the opportunity to consider how they come to the table to be fed through Jesus Christ so that they may go out into the world and do the work God calls us to do.

Transforming GenerosityThe TENS stewardship narrative series is one that many Diocese of Virginia churches have used for years. Lay leaders and clergy from across the Diocese look forward to this dependable and faithful resource every year. October 6 – November 17 (6 weeks)To access these resources, visit www.tens.org and contact our office for the login and password @ jsimonton@thediocese.net or 804-622-3175.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia | 110 W. Franklin Street | Richmond, Virginia 23220800-DIOCESE | www.thediocese.net