Your August Mission & Service Stories

AUGUST 1
COVID-19 Won’t End Until It Ends for Everyone

[Photo credit: iStock.com/rvimages]

Only 1% of the global majority have been vaccinated against COVID-19. In fact, many won’t be vaccinated until 2023 or even 2024. We need to act now to ensure that everyone around the globe has access to vaccines—because the COVID-19 crisis won’t end for anyone until it ends for everyone.

Moderator Richard Bott speaks about COVID-19 and vaccine justice in this video.

AUGUST 8
Thank You for Believing: Arwa’s Story

Photo of a smiling Arwa, wearing a dark red toque, checked scarf, and red jacket.

[Photo credit: Arwa Nofal]

“[This organization] has become not only my full-time job, not only my provider. It has become my home. I hope to see more and more women getting the same chance to have this better life for their families,” says Arwa Nofal, a Palestinian refugee whose life changed thanks to a Mission & Service partner.

A video of Arwa’s story is available.

AUGUST 15
Converting Space for a Field Hospital in Cuba

[Photo credit: Christian Centre for Reflection and Dialogue-Cuba]

11 million people live in Cuba. By mid-July, the country had a staggering average of nearly 44,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases daily. This is how one Mission & Service partner is opening its doors to help.

AUGUST 22
Women Like Barari Are Catalysts for Change

[Photo credit: Emma Taylor]

Barari remembers the way the other farmers in her village laughed at her when she began to farm differently. “It is a waste of time,” they said. “It will never work.” Here’s how it turned out.

AUGUST 29
535 New Ministries Map Inspiration

One thing is sure: the best way to fail is to try nothing, and the only way to succeed is to experiment by doing something new. That’s where your Mission & Service gifts come in.

Your gifts made a difference in 2020!

Your gifts for Mission & Service made an enormous difference in a very challenging year. Thank you so much!

Check out the Mission & Service 2020 report to learn more about the impact of your generosity. And please don’t forget to share the report with all of the Mission & Service supporters in your community of faith.

Congregational Stewardship/Generosity

This is your resource to help you grow generous disciples and gather the resources you need to do God’s mission. Please modify and use these ideas in your context.

Pandemic reopening

As more and more areas of our country are reopening and in-person worship and offering begins again, this is a perfect time to place an emphasis on the THANK pillar of Inspire, Invite & Thank. Thank people for their support, their generosity, their creativity; thank them for doing God’s mission and making a difference in people’s lives. Thank them for their gifts to do local mission and wider mission through Mission & Service. You cannot thank people too much! Have fun and please make thanking a key part of moving to in-person worship.

NEW worship series for Epiphany 2022 coming in October

Discover Your Gifts – Share Your Gifts is five weeks of stewardship worship to use as part of your Epiphany Congregational Giving Program. Use it with Called to Be the Church: The Giving Program, or on its own.

Called to Be the Church: The Journey

Called to Be the Church: The Journey is a set of tailored and topical modules with coaching and ongoing support to meet your stewardship needs.

Module 1: Stewardship Best Practices will start again in August. In four two-hour online classes followed by ongoing coaching and support, dive into these vital best practices:

Claim Your Mission – it's really why people give to you 
Cultivate Generosity – practical ways to increase giving 
Create A Culture of Gratitude – saying “thank you” is critical 
Stewardship Is Discipleship – integrating stewardship in your spiritual growth programming

Using the recommendations in your customized Stewardship Analysis report, you will accomplish your solid, achievable stewardship next steps.

Module 1: Stewardship Best Practices starts in some regions the first week of August! Sessions will start in other regions through September, October, and November. These sessions will be open to only three communities of faith per region, so be sure to SIGN UP EARLY! Questions? Email us.

Worship Resources

Find inspiring stewardship worship materials on the United Church stewardship in worship webpage. Each five-week set includes full liturgy, sermon, and children/youth materials. Use them as part of a giving program, or use any of the separate pieces in any time of worship

Stewardship Seconds, Offering Invitations, and Offering Prayers

Stewardship Seconds, offering invitations, and offering prayers for August 2021 are available on the United Church’s stewardship worship theme page. Scroll down to “Related Material” at the bottom of the page.

If you read just one book this month:

Giving to God by Mark Allan Powell

We all know that everything we have is a gift from God. But sometimes it’s hard to know just how much to give back to God. How much is enough? What does the Bible really say? What should giving look like in our everyday lives? Powell presents stewardship as an act of worship an expression of faith, and a discipline for spiritual growth.

Get Giving to God for only $7.40 at UCRD. Free shipping on orders over $80—use code SALEONSALE.

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!

Visit the United Church’s COVID-19 page for tips and resources for members and communities of faith during the pandemic. And for help with government COVID-19 support, visit the United Church’s emergency funding page.

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