Beyond the Plate with Neil Mancor - New Episode (04/30/20) 10 am EST
/Beyond the Plate with Neil Mancor - New Episode
On Thursday, April 30th, My guest is Peter Misiaszek, the Director of Stewardship Development for the Diocese of Toronto. Peter is one of Canada’s foremost thinkers and practitioners in faith-based stewardship development and is always ahead of the curve in thinking about new ways for churches to encourage generosity.
Continuing our focus on Generosity in an age of COVID-19, Peter is going to take us through ways to encourage giving at online services, “non-event” event fundraising and third generation digital giving platforms. Definitely not one to miss!
Neil's 7th Blog entry: Journey April 27th 2020
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Blog 7: Journey
The thing about being on a journey is that you never stay in the same place. That is the point of it: movement towards something. When travelleing, I always enjoy the journey as much as the destination. We often like to think of the Christian life as a journey. But that means that we are a people in motion. Never growing stale in one place, we relentlessly move on as the Spirit guides us. Or not. This is as true for us in our individual spiritual lives as it is faith communities.
I think it is fair to say that the past weeks have been quite a journey for us all on every front. Forced into social isolation, the pace of our lives has slowed from what often felt like frenetic race turned into something more like a gentle walk in the park. Perhaps one benefit of this has been for us all to stop and observe life in a different way. Each day has had its lessons and learnings for us as we found new ways to cope with social distancing and still run our lives. In our churches we have been determined to find ways to continue being a people together and there have been many different experiments along the way. I have been very impressed by the daring spirit of those who have taken the plunge into learning how to use new technology to reach out, to communicate and to bring God’s people together. Others have re-shaped the traditional pastoral conversation around social distancing guidelines. Some things work, some things do not work. Sometimes there are stumbles along the way. There are moments when that technology seems fiendishly complicated to use. But being willing to try, to fail and to carry on is taking us all on a great learning curve and we will not be the same after this time ends and a new time begins. We do it all because we love these churches of ours and the communities of faith that gather in them. We love them because they have been there for the long journey of our lives. We want them to continue to be there for us in the future.
Seeking, hearing, finding the direction of God in this journey is, I think, the essence of our spiritual discipline in this time. It surely has brought us all to our knees in prayer more than once. But that is the best place we can possibly be. Bringing ourselves and the people we love, and the communities of faith we cherish to God in prayer is one of the most important things we can do. Because it is God who can lead us through this time and beyond this time if we are willing to be on the journey with God. And we know we serve a loving God who cares deeply. I am encouraged by the words of Psalm 37 which says:
23When your steps are guided by the Lord and you delight in his way, 24Though you stumble, you shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds you fast by the hand.
That is the most important truth we can all hold onto in uncertain times. So even if the pace of life is a little slower right now, all the better it is for us to press into God who will ever lead. What an opportunity this is for us to honestly assess where we are on the journey, and where God is taking us. One thing is certain, going back isn’t an option.
Doodle Prayer Tonight! (April 27th 6pm)
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Supper Club is meeting weekly during the pandemic for prayer, fellowship and pastoral support. We have been focusing on prayer and using the prayer course as a template. We have also been sharing our own prayer practices and experimenting with different types of prayer. Tonight we are going to try Doodle Prayer for the first time and Bethany is going to lead us!
When: Monday April 27th 6 pm
What will you need:
Doodle supplies: paper, markers, pens, crayons stickers or whatever craft supplies you have on hand.
Bring your supper and a glass of wine (if you like)
See you Later!
Love,
Lee-Ann
Digital Church Services for the week of April 26-May 2nd
/Digital Church Services for the week of April 26-May 2nd
Global Pandemic weekly Supper Club Check In!
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In the continued spirit of the Prayer Course , we launched a new series on sharing our personal prayer practices with one another. At our last Supper Club on Monday Lee-Ann started the ball rolling by sharing her personal prayer and meditation course.
Find out more about what is happening at Supper Club HERE
Beyond The Plate Episode 2 - POSTPONED
/Beyond the Plate episode #2 (Thursday April 30th)
Join Neil Mancor and his guest Lori Guenther Reesor as they ask the question: Can the Church survive on Online Giving?
Lori Guenther Reesor is a writer, speaker and consultant who specializes in helping charities and churches nurture and inspire generosity. In this webinar Lori will help navigate us through the world of online giving and give us tips to help us all inspire a positive circle of grace in financial generosity. Lori combines deep research with a warm sense of humour and an engaging speaking style. This is a webinar you won’t want to miss.
Neil's weekly Blog Post April 20th 2020
/They were gathered together in the house with the door locked because they were afraid.
The evening of that first Easter did not start out with shouts of joy. Rather the disciples of Jesus, his closest friends, huddled together behind locked doors because they were discouraged, dispirited and afraid. Shattered by the death of Jesus, they could not make sense of the stories the women told of an empty tomb. Despite everything Jesus had told them, that it had to be this way, they were unable to put the pieces of the puzzle together and grasp what was going on. Until Jesus stood there. Very much alive, very much himself, physically, utterly alive. Then everything changed. And yet nothing changed.
Nothing changed because this little gang of people was still just that: a tiny little micro community in a vast Roman Empire that had no clue they existed and at didn’t care. They had nothing except themselves. But they had Jesus: Crucified, Risen, very much alive and with them. That truth galvanized them and opened the doors of their hearts to the mission of God.
This year, we too are gathered quite literally behind the closed doors of our houses. We cannot go out for fear of the illness that stalks our land. Our church doors are locked and we do not know when we will be able to open. But we have not locked down the doors of our hearts to the mission of God. Indeed we have all been experimenting – with varying degrees of success – with reaching out in new ways and learning much along the way.
If you weren’t already, you are by now very aware of Zoom as a video-conferencing tool. It has been truly a life-line for many of us to be able to be together, somehow in the same space. Our West Island Revive course has carried on via Zoom. Whist not the same as being in each other’s presence, we have found that we can still share, learn and pray together in deeply meaningful ways through Zoom. Check out our Supper Club Holy Week video. We enacted all the main events of the Upper Room and the Garden of Gethsemane on Zoom and it was powerful. There is a surprising creative potential with Zoom if you think about it. What I love about Zoom is that it is a way we can be together, see each other and share.
Others have been using Facebook Live as a way to put on services. I have appreciated the efforts many have made to put on a service that feels like being in church. Facebook live is less interactive than Zoom, but you can make your presence felt by adding supportive comments as you go. We even said a virtual “peace” that way! It feels very Anglican to go to a Facebook Live service. You can slip in and just be present during the service and slip out if you feel like. These services have also been a lifeline for many of us.
Thank you all for all the ways you have keep the doors your church open even during this pandemic. Bless you for seeking to maintain Christian community and meet the spiritual needs of God’s people. For although everything has changed, nothing has changed. Jesus is still alive. The Holy Spirit has been given. And Jesus has sent us on the mission. Our doors remain open.
Online Services for Sunday, April 19, 2020
/Parishes all over the diocese are broadcasting services via Facebook, Zoom and other platforms. Check out the full list here.
Watch Now: Beyond the Plate: financial generosity in the age of COVID-19.
/The pandemic has taught us that depending upon envelope donations to support our churches is no longer sustainable. Congregations that survive will be those who help their people transition towards automated giving. Join our Diocesan Congregational Development Officer Neil Mancor and Susan Graham Walker, Manager of Congregational Giving and Stewardship for a Facebook Live event where they will give practical advice on transitioning your congregation onto digital and automated forms of giving.
