Plans are in motion; what are your thoughts?

Well, last Tuesday we had a little Stewardship Committee meeting. I emphasize the word little. It was just two of us: me and Carol Mayo. I guess everyone figured my suggestions in the previous post were pretty good. Or perhaps you didn't read them.

Well, I have good news. I don't think we're going with any of those suggestions.

Carol and I had a far-ranging conversation, and most of it was about stewardship. When I asked Carol what she thought had worked well in years past with every-member-canvasses, she replied, "The Pony Express."

I've heard of this from other members of the parish, too. Before my time. I've only been here for a decade, and we all know that makes me a veritable newcomer to Trinity.

So, Pony Express. What was it that made that canvass so memorable? Well, first off, it involves nearly every member of the parish, and everyone has to do more than just fill out a pledge card.

I'll come back to the Express in a moment.

Over nachos and chicken quesadelas, Carol and I discussed what the elements of our Stewardship effort ought to have.

• Our effort focus not on numbers but on the spiritual aspects of stewardship. As a church in Akron put it, "Stewardship isn't a chore, but a task performed willingly with the joy of personal giving and involvement."


• We use materials we develop ourselves, rather than "store bought" materials. This will take a little more work, but will mean that our materials our unique to our parish.


• We return to monthly essays in The Trumpet. My first year as the chair of the Stewardship Committee, I wrote near-monthly essays for The Trumpet; these essays were fairly well received. They also kept the focus on Stewardship year round. With a year-long focus on stewardship, there's less emphasis on the canvass and more emphasis on actual stewardship. Anyway, monthly essays. I'm committing to write 6 of the essays; who else is willing to step up to the plate? Carol'll write one; need 5 more volunteers.


• September we'll have a Ministry Fair running concurrent with Rally Sunday. The Ministry Fair will provide an opportunity for everyone to learn about the various opportunities of ministry within the parish. We'll have tables around the Parish Hall with poster presentations and ministry leads. It'll be a chance for each of us to think about how we can best put our time and talents to use.


• We'll also have a Needs bulletin board which will allow us to publicize ministry needs and allow parishoners to volunteer for specific activities.


• And, finally, we'll run the Pony Express for our every member canvass.

So, what is this pony express? See this posting which does a great job explaining the program.

More to follow. Your comments, please?