Caring for God's Gifts

Overview

What is Stewardship? 

• Stewardship is a faithful response to God’s gifts and God’s mission by generously giving our time and energy, gifts and skills, witness and compassion as well as our financial resources.
• It is a commitment to share our common life in Christ.
• It means that we embody the gospel in acts of service, and to work for justice, peace, and the dignity of all persons.
• Stewardship is not just the challenge of servicing our own existence, programs, and practices.   

Caring for our Church – The 5 T's of Stewardship

• Time, Testimony, Treasure, Talent, and Tending to Creation are the 5 T's of Stewardship
• All 5 of the components of stewardship will be addressed over time as Immanuel settles and works toward its vision
• The areas of creation, our community, and our church will be the first 3 we tackle
• A communication plan is in the works, as we know that consistent and timely communications are key

Tending to Creation

What is Stewardship of Creation?

• This is caring for God’s world, the earth which is our home, and all of the created order that we were given dominion over in Genesis.
• This is caring for God’s people.  We care about the needs of our families, our neighbours, our friends and the world.
• This is caring for the earth through advocating for ecological justice. 
• This can have an enormous influence on how we work ecumenically with others and partner with people in the wider community.

What actions can we take to not only improve the environment, but improve the quality of life for citizens in our community?  How can we be good stewards of the earth?

IMMANUEL RECOGNIZED FOR EDUCATION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

On May 3rd, the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development held it's annual awards event.  Immanuel was recognized with an award at this ceremony.  Here is the information about the ceremony and all the award recipients:  2023-RCE-SK-Recognition-Event

Here are the slides that were presented:  Immanuel Tending to Creation Slides    

And the supporting documentation:  Tending to Creation Detailed Info  

What you can do now

1. Consistent use of the Blue boxes in the church building(s) 
2. Consistent use of the Blue Bins for recycling and picked up by the city at our houses
3. Dispose of used batteries safely.  Look for the box to collect used household batteries in our church building just before entering the sanctuary.
4. For those of you who garden, plant an extra row of vegetables to donate to community fridges.
5. Use the Drop and Go service at SARCAN to recycle your beverage containers and use the Immanuel code 3065864420.  The deposit money will go to the Immanuel account and will be used for Tending to Creation initiatives.  Or if it's easier for you, bring your beverage containers to the church and we will get them to Sarcan for you.
6. Continue working on our native plant/pollinator garden (see the June 29th issue of the Greenwise Gazette)
7. Take your hazardous waste to the City of Regina's Household Hazardous Waste Depot located just south of the Landfill on Fleet Street.    
8. Follow the steps in the August 2021 issue of the Greenwise Gazette to perform a household waste audit at your home.  This will help you understand where you can make some quick, easy changes that will reduce the amount of waste in your household.  Greenwise Gazette - August 2021   
9. Bring your old eyeglasses to church and place them in the Lions Recycle for Sight box.  Read about this program in the 
   April, 2022 issue of the Greenwise Gazette at this LINK.
10. Collect the tabs off cans and bring them to church and place them in the container for them.  We take these to the Pasqua Hospital Auxiliary who exchange them in a program for wheelchairs.  Read more about it in the March, 2022 issue of the Greenwise Gazette at this LINK  
11. Collect used stamps that we can donate to the Canadian Bible Society for their Stamps for Freedom program.  Read about it HERE

Our Newsletter

The Greenwise Gazette

What we’re planning to do

1. Develop our own community garden that Immanuel parishioners will tend and harvest.
2. Identify an area of land that can be used to create a Food Forest or Edible Garden.  More information on what this is can be obtained HERE
3. Continue development of our native plant/pollinator garden on the west side of our parking lot as part of the Butterflyway project.  More information on what this is can be obtained HERE
4. Continue our Children's Garden program found on the south side of our building.
5. Encourage the use of compost bins when they are delivered to homes in the city sometime in 2023.
6. Education about and participation in Kairos initiatives on ecological justice.  More information on what this is can be obtained HERE

Please email us at info@immanuelanglicanregina.ca if you have ideas for how we can continue to care for God’s creation.

Caring for our TIME

At Immanuel, Caring for our TIME is synonymous with Caring for our Community and includes Mission and Outreach activities as well as Pastoral Care activities

What can we do now?

Refugee Support

• Immanuel Leadership has affirmed a commitment to ongoing refugee support through the Diocese of Qu'Appelle.  
• With the large number of applications pending, we may be asked to help with donations of household goods and furnishings
• Plan for regular celebrations and gatherings of those we co-sponsor and build relationships (post-COVID)
• See our page dedicated to our Refugee Sponsorship HERE

PWRDF

• Promote PWRDF activities through our website and announcements
• See our page dedicated to PWRDF HERE

Food Bank

• Continue to promote donations to the food bank

Christmas Hampers

• Continue the practice of more than 25 years of providing Christmas Hampers to those in need

What can we plan for the future?

• Plan educational and community events to learn more about the refugee crisis in the world
• Encourage sponsored refugees to speak during worship or at other events
• Expand the Christmas Hamper program to reach more needy families
• Resume Food Security programs when it is safe to do so - REACH, MUCH, St. Paul's Lunch program

Caring for our TALENTS

We are still planning how we will Care for our Talents at Immanuel.  More information coming soon.

Caring for our TESTIMONY

Our plans for Caring for Testimony are still in progress.

Caring for our TREASURE

In focusing on Caring for our Church, we turn our attention to our finances.  Our finances include responsibilities for:

• Paying our Fair Share to the diocese. (Fair Share provides essential diocesan services and employees to carry them out.)
• Paying our clergy and employees.
• Tending to the needs and upkeep of our properties, and being good neighbours in the community.
• Having the ability to reach out into the community using our financial and human resources as needed.
• Allocating a budgeted amount to support educational needs of the congregation.

What can we do now?

• Develop a communication plan so all parishioners are aware of our stewardship goals as well as anticipated future needs.
• Continue to include stewardship notices and bulletins in our weekly announcements –  introduce “Missional Moments” … short vignettes of Immanuel Parish working in the community, providing leadership in missional projects, etc.
• Provide periodic updates to all parishioners on various ways to support the mission and ministry of the church i.e.  Pre-Authorized Giving, the Canada Helps Program, Envelope giving, E-transfers, and on the Immanuel website using the ‘Donate Now’ button.  
• Partner with committees dedicated to mission, outreach, and fellowship for their ideas on how giving benefits our community.  Tell our stories.
• Continue to consult with the diocesan Stewardship resource person for ideas of how to keep stewardship, in all its forms as a priority for the parish. 
• Continue to post articles and announcements on our website.
• Report monthly to vestry and other interested persons our financial status. 

What can we do in the future?

• Sponsor virtual and in-person seminars and town hall meetings and provide clear explanations of Will Power and Legacy Giving. Will Power is a program aimed at increasing our donations through bequests in wills and beneficiary designations for new or existing life insurance policies.  Legacy Giving includes the advantages of Will Power PLUS things like: learning about the preferential tax treatment of donations of qualified stocks, mutual funds, etc.; “Donating to a Cause”; Major, transformational gifts; and other impactful ways of donating…
• Post the Will Power video on our website for members.
• Continue the congregational dialogue on the 5 T’s of stewardship-Time, Treasure, Talent, Testimony, and Tending to God’s creation.
• Encourage clergy and volunteers to talk on one of the five T’s of stewardship at least once each church season.