Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Where History Invites Opportunity

www www.stewardshipoflife.org

SOLI/Update
Free Newsletter

Links to the latest weekly resources, plus a special message. Review past newsletters in the archive. Click to Subscribe!

8-Week Program:With God's Permission

Here's a complete resource for a congregation to begin using an asset-based approach to financial stewardship. "This simple program can help your congregation fund God’s mission in a fresh and exciting manner." Available for free PDF download. From ELCA Stewardship.

Links

Stewardship

ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries(DCM), offers a variety of resources, including many on stewardship.

Stewardship for the 21st Century, an initiative of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

The Stewardship Connection, a website run by noted ELCA author and stewardship consultant Eugene Grimm.

New Jersey Synod, ELCA, has a helpful stewardship archive of resources for every congregational need.

The Episcopal Network for Stewardship, a not-for-profit member organization whose website offers a number of free resources for congregational stewardship leaders.

Organizations

Church of England Parish Resources for Stewardship
Our friends across the pond have collected a wide assortment of materials perfect for congregational stewardship leaders. Look for sermon starters, lessons for youth and inspirational essays. Click here for "Parish Resources for Stewardship," from The Church of England.

Website: Web of Creation From Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a unbelievably comprehensive data base of resources about religion and the environment. Here you'll find background materials on environmental issues of all types, guides for study, workshop outlines, programs for worship, awareness-raising ideas, advocacy steps and more.


ELCA World Hunger, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's program to feed, educate and sustain God's poorest people in the United States and abroad.


Earth Ministry.Looking for simple, down-to-earth ways to raise the environmental awareness level of your congregation? Here's a website for you. Earth Ministry is an ecumenical, mostly Mainline group out of Seattle founded in 1992, and it's website offers a good mix of the theological and the practical when it comes to environmental stewardship -- nice how-to pieces, links to articles, resources for purchase. Definitely worth a look.

Bread for the World, a nationwide Christian citizens movement seeking justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers.

EDOW Stewardship BugEpiscopal Diocese of Washington - Stewardship ResourcesThe good Anglicans in our nation's capital have put together a wonderful assortment of free stewardship resources for congregational use. Lots of nuts-and-bolts material for practical application.

Fund for Christian Ecology.Look here for thoughtful essays, studies and theological treatments of Christian thinking about environmental issues. Also links to helpful sites.

Sojourners: Christians for Peace and Justice.Thoughtful articles and resources related to poverty and justice. Founded in 1971, Sojourners is a Christian ministry whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice.

Website: Evangelical Environmental Network Here you'll find a wide variety of resources for use in your congregation: articles, small-group resources, tips, links, liturgies. Especially check out the 2004 Creation Sunday worship materials which center around the theme God's Oceans.

National Coalition for the Homeless focuses its education and advocacy efforts on four issues: for housing justice, economic justice, health care justice and civil rights.

The Other Side: Strength for the Journey. "We advance a healing Christian vision that's biblical and compassionate, appreciative of the creative arts, and committed to the intimate intertwining of personal spirituality and social transformation."

The Alban Institute devoted to helping congregations of all denominations find healthier, stronger ways to fulfill their mission. Lots of good resources and ideas.

Pastors.com is the website of Rick Warren, the pastor who's energizing churches with The Purpose-Driven Life. From his own Saddleback Church he offers lots of free resources for congregations.

Seminaries

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, South Carolina

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa

Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio

Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

Pacific Lutheran Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Ontario, Canada.

Publications

The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, contains a comprehensive archive of feature stories, news articles and theological and personal essays from the people and institutions of the ELCA.

On Philanthropy is an online journal for non-profit organizations with a virtual encyclopedia of information on fundraising, marketing, networking, etc.

The website for Spirituality & Health magazine contains a storehouse of inspirational articles, practices and reviews of books and films to help guide people on their spiritual journey. Many deal with issues surrounding stewardship -- giving, compassion, justice, gratitude, etc. 

ChristianityToday.com provides free access to articles not only from to the flagship publication but also the affiliated magazines. Always interesting, always useful, always thought-provoking.

Church Executive magazine offers lots of informative articles on issues facing congregations -- including stewardship, building campaigns, fundraising, etc.

Word & World is a theological journal put out by Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Scholarly articles on issues of timely concern.