Stewardship
Planned Giving Workshops! The Stewardship Team is excited to announce the launch of our “Planned Giving” Workshops! On Sunday, March 11th, 2012 at 11:30am we are inviting you to a light luncheon and to our first workshop where you will learn more about making a planned gift. It will inspire generous bequest ideas. Limited space is available, so please R.S.V.P. early, call the Church Office 519-471-0800 or email stannesbyron@magma.ca

Gift Planning W orkshop at St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Byron, March 11, 2012,
Parish Hall after 10:00 am worship.
“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give”
Sir Winston Churchill

The ministries of St. Anne’s Parish are deeply rooted in the Byron and environs area and have been for many, many years. This spirit of volunteerism and serving the Lord defines our community.

The Stewardship Committee has been working hard to find ways that our ministries can continue to make a difference in our community and be maintained into the future. In order to accomplish this, the financial stability of St. Anne’s must be realized. We even believe that our ability to provide the needed and effective work of our ministries can be increased! To that end, we are planning a workshop which will delve into ways that this financial security may be achieved.

There are many types of charitable gifts, each with its own advantages and tax implications. It is important that any gift is structured to best suit the needs and financial circumstances of the givers. In this way the end result can maximize the benefits for both the donors and our community of St. Anne’s.

When one is considering making a charitable “gift” as part of their estate plan, there are a number of issues to consider. Here is a list of general questions that provide a starting point for your consideration.
1. Do you wish to provide a gift to a charity as part of your financial/estate plan?
2. Are you familiar with the tax benefits associated with charitable giving?
3. What would you like to accomplish with your charitable gift?
4. What charity or charities would you like to benefit?
5. Do you want to make a charitable gift while living and/or leave a legacy at death?
6. What assets are available to you to donate to a charity? (ie, publicly-traded shares, RRSP’s, other capital)
7. Would you be interested in obtaining information about whether a private foundation may be suitable in your situation?
These are some of the issues which will be addressed in our presentation. If you have any other questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact myself at 519-860-7843, or leave a message at the church office with Joy.
Erich Fratschko
Stewardship Committee, St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Byron
erich.fratschko@investorsgroup.com
Heaven will be a spacious place and all sorts of treasures will be available to us there. But the entryway is too small for a moving van; we can’t take anything with us to paradise except the love we carry inside our hearts.

Fall 2011 News:
St. Anne’s Stewardship Team, with the help of your Parish Council and Wardens have been going “Door to Door” to deliver to the community the message of St. Anne’s that is below.
This is also our invitation to our neighbours to drop by and visit with us.

St. Anne’s Anglican Church (Byron)
"God speaks to us through people. We are ambassadors of grace for one another."
Sunday Services AT 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.
Officiated by Reverend Canon Janet Lynall
Assisted by Reverend Ken Brooks, Deacon
What matters to us at St. Anne’s
Kids: Teaching our children about faith and building healthy relationships in fun and creative ways.
Teenagers: Our youth group is a place for teenagers to gather, have fun and talk about a wide range of topics.
Fellowship: At St. Anne?s we have many social groups and activities in which people are invited to participate.
Community: St. Anne?s has an active Outreach Team and are enthusiastically involved in the community.
Christ: St. Anne?s believes living a Christ centered life can lead us to peace and joy.
Tradition: Since 1853 St. Anne?s spiritual presence has been integral to Byron.
Scripture: At St. Anne?s we gather to study scripture and other writings to help us develop a deeper understanding of our spiritual path.

Why do we come to St. Anne’s?
As soon as I came to St. Anne’s I felt comfortable. I felt like I had found my spiritual home and I liked the people I met. - Sam
I like to come to church on Sunday because it grounds me. I feel better prepared to face the week ahead. - Cheryl

I began coming to St. Anne’s after my wife passed away a few years ago. I came seeking answers, what I found was God. I’m not running on empty anymore. - Ted

I come to St. Anne?s because they have a wonderful program for children and I wanted my children to learn what it is to be part of a faith based community. I feel good
that my children are in a safe place and are having fun. – Terry

St. Anne’s invites you to drop in or contact us anytime!

Other previous articles
The Stewardship Team has our message ready to take to the community. It is a card inviting people to join us, as well as telling people about ourselves. It will be delivered door to door in the BYRON area. We want to reach out and share God’s generous love with others and let them know they are welcome to St. Anne’s. This campaign will run for three weeks and it starts October 20th and will be completed November 10th. We will require your assistance in delivering these cards. If you are able to help us with this please speak with any member of Stewardship Team or call the church office. You may want to work in pairs for support and encouragement. Please enjoy yourself!!

Good stewardship does take us out of our comfort zone. We have 1000 cards printed and have bundled them in packages of 30 or 40. We also have maps printed that will accompany all bundles. We also want to know how you were received and which houses were covered. If the home owner is not home and there is a mailbox, we ask you to leave it in the mailbox. If you are so inclined you may return to that house but this is not necessary. If you would like to participate but only want a few cards that is also very welcome. We appreciate your support!! Help us grow.

We have agreed on the following message at the door: "Hello. I am from the local St. Anne’s Anglican Church of Byron. We are going out in the community to extend an invitation and let people know about us. If you don’t already have a church, you are welcome to join us. Here is a card with more information." The message is clear and there is no religious debate present. It is merely an invitation.

December 2010
The stewardship presentation on Sunday December 12, 2010, the third in a series of presentation by the stewardship team, centered on Narrative Budgeting a process of telling the sacred story of the parish for the past year.  

Paul Martin explained how narrative budgeting is an essential element in educating the congregation about how their money is being utilized to support the ministry of the parish.  Paul explained that Donors don’t give their money TO the church… they give THROUGH the church to touch the lives of other people.  People will give generously when they feel their money is having a positive impact.  Narrative budgeting more clearly shows how money is being invested in the various components of parish life and how it is making an impact in people’s lives in and around the parish.  It helps to inspires donors and helps them see their donations are really making a difference an important element to make people feel good about donating.  People are not inspired to give to pay utilities bills, cleaning supplies or other administrative line items. So how does a narrative budget work?

Paul explained how you first needed to identify no more than six (6) categories in which to break the parish’s activities into such as:
Pastoral Care - Christian Education -  Worship & Music - Welcoming and Hospitality – Outreach - Stewardship

Do you notice what category is missing?   Administration   Remember people want to know their donations make a difference not that they are funding administrative needs.     So what would a Narrative Budget look like?
Normal expense lines would be distributed across the various categories in both a spreadsheet format and pie graph.

The most important part is to tell a story about each piece of the pie about how starting at a high high or macro level moving down into individual stories showing how donations impacted people’s lives or the micro level.  Finally we need to add Time and Talent to the equation showing how it takes people to make difference not just money. 
A good example is our weekly church services every Sunday.  Did you know there is over 2,600 volunteer hours required each year?  Here are the facts:

•    Altar guild – two people X 2 hours= 4 hours
•    Choir – ten member X 2 hours of worship and two hours of practice time = 40 hours
•    Readers, server, sides-people, 5 X 2 hours = 10 hours

Blessed to be a blessing
The story goes that Erasmus, a Renaissance scholar, was watching the pope as wagonloads of wealth were brought through the gates of the Vatican.  Turning to Erasmus, the pope observed.  “No longer can the church say with Peter, “Silver or gold have I none.”  Erasmus replied, “True.  But neither can the church say to the lame man, “Take up your bed and walk.”

Good stewardship begins with your offerings and continues with our careful distribution of those offerings for the glory of God and ministry and work of the church in the world.  The Bible repeatedly challenges us to give generously.  So Paul writes “Just as you excel in everything else… in faith, in speech, in knowledge in earnestness, and in love… see also that you excel in the grace of giving.”  (2Corinthians 8:7)  These words still challenge us today! We provide many ministries and services at St. Anne’s parish.  Most, if not all bear a financial expense.  St. Anne’s current operating budget is $246,658.  It costs over $4743. each week to open the doors of St. Anne’s.  The ultimate goal of St. Anne’s Stewardship Program is to fund 100% of the operating budget through stewardship contributions.  This will enable the use of funds generated from special events like our coffee house, Western Fair Food Booth, Christmas Bazaar to be directed toward additional outreach ministries and projects like a new lawn sign. 

Recently St. Anne’s stewardship team launched a four month series on stewardship beginning on Harvest Festival Sunday with the theme “Stewardship is Thanksgiving”.  Parishioners picked up a Thanksgiving leaf with a thankful action on it, from our Giving Tree, a live red oak tree now planted in our front yard.  This was one way of also remembering that this is who we are, thankful, giving people. 

In November we shift our stewardship focus to the value of leaving a legacy and planned giving.  We encourage you to think about whether your offerings are planned, thoughtful reflections of your intentions and attitude to God and the church.  One way to ensure your giving intentions are matched with your offering is pre-authorized giving.  You will find enclosed in the newsletter a form to choose from regarding signing up for pre-authorized giving.  

The weekly service collection plate varies weekly and monthly.  It depends on how many parishioners are present.  Like your home, we have costs, some are fixed and some vary with season and circumstances.  The bills must be paid from monthly cash flow to sustain the church and continue our outreach ministries and efforts. 

One Christian church closes every week in Canada.  The closures are not happening as frequently with large congregation churches but with small intimate churches like St. Anne’s.  We have survived at St. Anne’s because of excellent Diocese and church leadership.
We know life is busy and there are many demands on us all.  But if you have not been to a service in a while we invite you to join us.  We believe we have a lovely place to worship, a place to celebrate our Christian beliefs and traditions.   We strive to contribute to the local and global communities in acts and works of justice, and a place also to find solace with caring friends and pastoral care through times of crisis. 

Pre-authorized giving by cheque or credit card will help stabilize our revenue stream.  It will ensure that our church can flourish through the ebb and flow of attendance trends.  How much you decide to give is an ongoing conversation between you and God.  The church encourages the biblical standard of generous giving but does not dictate or publish your giving.  If you have any difficulty filling out the form or any questions you can call the envelope secretary, Joy Philpott at the church office or any member of the Stewardship Team.   

Submitted by the Stewardship Team